The Vampire Knight
by diciassete
Summary: Zero retired from being a Vampire Knight because of his agonizing, headache-causing visions. And now, he's being blackmailed into guarding the heir of the Kuran family, Kuran Kaname. God help both of them.
1. 0: Caught

The Vampire Knight

**Rating: T **(coarse language, profanity, ideas generally unsuitable for those not open-minded enough to accept them)

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Plot Summary: **_Zero retired from being a Vampire Knight because of his agonizing, headache-causing visions. And now, he's being blackmailed into guarding the heir of the Kuran family, Kuran Kaname._

Hello, all! I'm new to this fandom (but not the manga and anime), and I figured: why not start with a pairing that enough people seem to like? I just didn't want to go through the norm _just yet_, but I suppose I'll eventually get there. Now, I'm just testing my arm strength. My chapters are generally long, except for this prologue. For all of you who've read/watched Vampire Knight, yes, this is alternate universe. Kind of. All that stuff at Cross Academy isn't here in this story. So you have been warned. I've changed some important things in Vampire Knight to aid my own plot; so yes, all of the Vampire Hunters are now Vampire Knights. Zero, Kaien, Yagari, and Ichiru are the most notable Vampire Knights. I'm very sorry if this change has bothered you.

Oh, and Zero is pretty disrespectful and sardonic towards almost everyone, so you've been warned of that as well.

Also, if you don't like the pairing, you may want to call it quits right now. If you've even bothered to read this introductory note. But now that the warnings are over, let's have fun reading!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight.

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><p>~~o~~<p>

'_He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.__'_ - Friedrich Nietzsche

~~o~~

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><p>Zero was pretty sure he was being tailed.<p>

And despite being flattered that he was apparently important enough to be stalked, he just really wasn't in the mood to couple sarcasm with any sort of pain, and especially not the oncoming headache that he was getting signals from, so he did his best to just focus on getting the hell out of the forest. As Yagari used to—and probably still did—say, "There are more animalistic beasts than you in the trees, Zero. Don't just watch your back."

The forest was pretty moderate though; no evil spirits appeared to be lurking anywhere, and he was the only vampire here.

At least, that's what _he_ thought.

But still, three hundred years of early retirement failed to bring his senses to a stub, which his excruciating headaches were proof of. Back then when he was still a Knight, he wished Bloody Rose didn't have a conscience and would just let him shoot himself.

Footsteps were gaining on him now. Mustering a lot of mind power, and a fair enough amount of willpower, he shoved aside the headache and leapt into a tree, stationing himself on a branch silently. Then he cocked his stolen gun and waited for his little ambush party to arrive. But he was mistaken when only one man—no, _Knight_—stepped into the little clearing and looked up straight at him in the tree. Zero was tempted to back away; his mind didn't recognize the man, until—

"Zero, come down."

God damn.

"Go away, Cross," said Zero, glaring at him.

Kaien Cross smiled at him, and Zero swore again, aloud this time. "You can't hide from me, kid. No matter how good your prognostications are."

Zero rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, best of the best and all that shit. I think I got that last time when you drank Yagari under the table. How are Yagari and Ichiru, by the way?"

"They'd be doing better if they saw you again," Kaien replied evenly. "We need you to come back, Zero. The adept, _professional_ Knights are dwindling, and all that are left are just students that are afraid of their own shadows. Ichiru isn't enough to protect the Kuran family's son and daughter."

Kuran? Zero knew his eyes had turned red with recognition. Then they faded back to grey. Kuran was a Pureblood surname. A very old line of Pureblood vampires, actually. Zero was impressed. Ichiru was guarding them? He sighed to himself. Either way, he was pretty much done with the Vampire Knights Association. At least, he thought. "And if I say no?"

"We'll take your case of the overdosing of Vicodin to Takahashi Court and settle it there."

Feeling the urge to seethe, Zero crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't think you'd sink that low just to have me back as a Knight, Cross. I needed the Vicodin." He glared at Kaien again, harder this time. "I'm done with the Association. Drag that case back to the Court for all I care; I don't want to come back. What the hell do they want from me now? I completed the damn sixty-seven tasks that were required of every Knight; now what?"

"You know well what. This isn't to punish you, Zero. Originally, Ichiru was going to protect the male, but the vampire insisted on having Ichiru guard his younger sister. And let it be known: we are lower than the Pureblood vampires through and through, Vampire Knights or not. Respected, yes, and we live forever, but a Pureblood's diction is law."

"Cross, I left a long time ago for personal reasons. The Association can go stuff its orders for all I care."

"Zero Kiryu!" Kaien finally exclaimed. "You stubborn-headed, obstinate fool! That's it. I asked nicely, but that obviously isn't going to fly. If you do not come along obediently and become the Knight for the Kuran family's son, then I will show Yagari the pictures of you drunk off your ass and kissing random people!" Catching note of Zero's abruptly alarmed and rapidly paling face, he smirked to himself. "And then, I'll show your brother—"

"All right, all right!" Zero cried hastily. "I'll do it, damn it! I'll become the bloody Vampire Knight for the Kuran boy! Just don't do what you're threatening to do!"

Kaien eyed him suspiciously. 'Come down, Zero, and swear a blood pact. Then I'll believe you and lay off the blackmail."

Zero groaned. "You damn bastard." Nevertheless, he jumped down from the tremendous tree and stepped forward, sinking his fangs into his right wrist. Then, as he began to swear the solemn oath, he glared at Kaien. "I promise to uphold the customs of the blood pact, yada yada, guard the Kuran male, yada yada, and commit suicide if I betray him."

The blood from his wrist dripped down his fingertips and was absorbed into the earth. God, Zero hated blood pacts. But his ancient dignity was on the line here. With a sigh, he turned to Cross and said, "What do I do now?" But Cross was staring at him, surprised. "What?" Zero asked irritably.

"You've gotten taller. Taller than me now," Kaien noted, amazed. "How? What have you been eating? Steroids?"

Zero glanced down at his feet, as if that could give him the answer to the question Kaien gave him. "No, I haven't been eating anything, actually. I haven't eaten human food—" he wrinkled his nose at the thought of grease, "—in two hundred years. All I've been ingesting is animal blood."

"Any animal in particular?"

The silver-head shrugged. "Boars, bears… Some company paid me to get rid of terrorizing lions." He smirked and held his left arm up, rolling back tattered sleeves of a dirtied white button-down shirt to show a scar, visible against his pale skin, extending from his elbow to his wrist in a jagged line. "That was the lion."

Kaien rolled his eyes. Then he put on a smile. "Now that I know you've been drinking blood for the past two hundred years and nothing else, it makes sense. Well, how have you been? You haven't just spent your time in retirement drinking blood, have you? What have you been up to?"

"To answer the question of how I've been, no, I didn't just spend time drinking blood. I spent time taking Vicodin too. Those three hundred years were filled with headaches, sleep, and more headaches accompanying sleep," replied Zero. "How're Ichiru and Yagari doing?"

"I already answered that question."

"With a shit answer, Cross. I want details on how my twin and my mentor are doing."

Kaien grimaced. "Yagari's been smoking more often than not. He's pretty wasted half of the time too. Shizuka's been getting pretty pissed with him being her Knight. I think they may be screwing behind our backs though. It isn't uncommon for Purebloods and their Knights to marry, though the Pureblood still needs to produce heirs. It could be a problem for Yagari and Shizuka, since the line needs to continue through the female while the male rules the family." Kaien saw how bored Zero was getting and thought to himself, _You wouldn't need to be getting this talk if you listened in class, idiot. _"As for Ichiru…" He chuckled. "He heard that we were going to find you and told me to tell you that he'd castrate you as soon as we brought you back. Then he'd hug you and welcome you back with some Vicodin."

"How long ago was this?" asked Zero, feeling a nostalgic emotion bubble up in him. That sounded just like Ichiru.

"Give-or-take three years."

Zero smirked. "I was that good?"

Kaien smiled at him. "Yagari taught you well. If only my pupils were that excellent at listening…they'd be somewhere along the lines of half as good as you are."

There was silence for a while, and then, Zero tentatively continued the conversation.

"Hey, Cross?"

"Yeah, Zero?"

"How have _you_ been?"

Kaien blinked at the question. He didn't take Zero as the one to care for small talk, but then again, he hadn't seen Zero for a whole damn three hundred years. The ex-Knight could have changed for all Kaien knew. "Well, I recently got married."

Grinning, Zero plopped down against the trunk of the tree and looked up at him. "What's his name?"

Kaien strode forward and smacked him on the back of the head. "You little devil! I married a _woman_! Her name is Ayano." He glared at Zero, who laughed like there was no tomorrow. "You… I ought to cripple you for that!" But he couldn't help but join in on the laughter as well.

After they both finished laughing, Kaien looked at Zero in wonder.

"Are you really coming back?" he asked.

"Blackmail," Zero reminded him. "My tattered reputation can still be salvaged."

"Right. We better get going then. The Association wants you back before sundown, and you chose an entire five hundred kilometers away from the Square…"

Zero held a hand up, gesturing for Kaien to wait. Then, with a grimace, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. Images flashed through his eyes, and his earlier headache that he had pushed aside came back stronger than ever. It must have been a pretty important vision if it was the pain was this strong.

_A dark-haired boy was walking across a lawn… That was the Square of the Pureblood families. _(Although…Zero didn't quite understand. There were seven families. Shouldn't it have been the Heptagon of the Pureblood families? Either way, there were seven giant houses separated along three sides of the square.)_ The dark-haired vampire strode along the grass calmly, confidently, like he owned the place. He probably did. A younger girl was there too, laughing joyously and skipping with him. They appeared to be related._

(There were other people; Zero could hear them.)

_But the vision was mostly focused on the vampire, the Pureblood, and his companion. Then, out of the corner of the view, glinting silver could be seen—then a gunshot._

"Oh shit," said Zero, his breath coming out in a whoosh. "Oh double shit."

"What?" Kaien inquired, helping him to his feet as Zero's arm extended itself to Kaien. "What was it this time?"

"A Pureblood. Getting shot."

"When?"

"Day time… On the day of the festival. The Hanadagi's special festival." He could recognize the banners with the symbol on there, the insignia of the Hanadagi family. "It's during day time—why the hell are the Purebloods out in daylight I have no fucking idea—but since it is the festival…" Zero rubbed his eyes cantankerously and stepped away from Kaien's steadying arm, rubbing his temples with his fingertips.

"This isn't good… Zero?"

Zero turned to Kaien with a pained grimace. "Yes?"

"The festival is tomorrow."

_Shit._


	2. 1: Landed

The Vampire Knight

**Rating: T **(coarse language, profanity, ideas generally unsuitable for those not open-minded enough to accept them)

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Plot Summary: **_Zero retired from being a Vampire Knight because of his agonizing, headache-causing visions. And now, he's being blackmailed into guarding the heir of the Kuran family, Kuran Kaname._

By the way, if you want to check if I've made an update, and you haven't alerted this story, you can always go to my profile. I usually keep track of my updates there.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight.

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><p>~~o~~<p>

'_He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea__.'_ - Thomas Fuller

~~o~~

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><p>It had to be pretty pathetic that Zero Kiryu, a fucking ex-Vampire Knight who had been reinstated just five hours ago, was on a plane. He knew he could have ran faster than the plane could fly to the landing deck some twenty miles off from the Square, and he could have been <em>at<em> the Square by now, but Kaien had insisted on him staying on the plane so he didn't run off. Newsflash: he couldn't. He swore that stupid blood pact and couldn't do anything about it, and he hadn't even seen the Pureblood he was assigned to yet.

Currently, Kaien was showing Zero pictures of his wife. Zero wondered where the hell Kaien pulled out that big-ass photo album, but Kaien bombarded him with questions before he could ask his own. Questions like, 'Isn't she beautiful?' or 'Do you want to meet her?' or 'Want to see another one?' were just answered with well-timed nods on Zero's part. But truth was: Zero didn't really care. All he knew was his head hurt like hell, and though he had already fed off of a mountain lion two days ago, his stomach squirmed inside of him for blood.

Of course, as soon as he got to the Square, some sort of shit ceremony would be initiated, and Zero would officially become the Vampire Knight of the Kuran male. Then there was this whole other shit ceremony in which Zero drank some blood from the Pureblood he was assigned—no, _bound_— to, and then Zero would have to keep a silent vigil inside the vampire's room all night. No sleep, no food, no drink, no talk, no nothing. Just himself, the vampire, and any pedestrians daring to cross the door to the room he was situated in.

"Oi, Cross," said Zero, finally bored out of his mind. The vision bugged him a lot. "How long are the two ceremonies going to take?"

Kaien rolled his eyes at Zero. "You know how long it takes." He poked Zero in the chest. "Remember? Last time, you were temporarily assigned to that Shirabuki girl. Although you didn't do taking blood or any of the sort to make the bond, it took an approximate two days."

Zero groaned when he remembered Sara Shirabuki. "I hope I never see her again. Guarding her was a _nightmare_. She was a sadistic Pureblood." Suddenly, he sat up in his seat and held Kaien in a firm gaze. "Is my Pureblood some sort of sadistic bastard as well?"

"For one, I don't think you should call him 'your' Pureblood, Zero. Two, no, he's not a sadistic bastard, and you shouldn't call him a bastard either…" Kaien sighed. Zero's bad habits and sarcastic, blunt nature didn't go away at all. "Kaname Kuran is quite nice, actually, when you get to know him."

"His name is Kaname?"

"Yes. His name is Kaname. His sister's name is Yuki. His sister's guardian's name is Ichiru. Would you like more details?" Kaien replied. Zero grinned at him. "Zero, be on your best manners when you meet him, okay? Purebloods command respect, and Kaname Kuran and his family deserve the most respect of all."

Zero felt his grin grow wider. "Am I taller than him?"

Kaien sighed to himself. Sometimes, Zero asked the weirdest questions. "Well, he's the same height as me, so yes; you're taller than him now." He sniffed at Zero and wrinkled his nose. "Go take a shower. Goodness. How long have you been in the wild, you animal?"

"Two hundred and seventy-eight years," Zero replied smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll have the attendant set out some clothes for you then. The shower's just down the walkway, next to the bathroom. You don't want to offend the Kuran family by showing up stinking to high heavens…"

"And you think I will?" Zero shot back, getting out of his seat and crossing the distance to the shower. "Make those clothes comfortable and not formal! Otherwise I'll go across the Square naked!"

"You better not!"

After changing into his clothes—Kaien threatened him into them because of the fact that there was a festival today and he was required to dress formally to meet the Kuran family—Zero found himself stepping off of a plane in the shadow of dawn. With a yawn, he stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders, feeling sore all over. He wasn't quite used to being pampered, and wild animal blood helped staunch his lust for blood. Now, he wasn't thirsty at all, and the fact that he'd be drinking the purest blood of all the four hundred years he had lived only served to make him feel squeamish and uncomfortable.

Kaien handed Bloody Rose back to him in a case with girly pink ribbons and all of that sick girly shit. Zero, for the first time in his life, pushed his gun away and pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing in through his mouth. Nausea was not his thing. Headaches and pains were, but nausea wasn't. He was never getting on a plane again.

"You okay?" asked Kaien, patting him between the shoulder blades. "You don't look too hot."

"I always look hot," Zero mumbled, finally taking the little box from Kaien. "What the fuck is this?" he asked, regaining his composure and looking distastefully down at the ribbons.

"Your gun," replied Kaien cheerfully.

Without even blinking, Zero ripped off the ribbons, left them to fall to the floor, and cracked the plastic encasing with his fingers, pulling his gun out and throwing the thing into the nearest trash bin there was. "You… You humiliated my gun. You put pink ribbons on it. And then you drew smiley faces and hearts _with smiley faces_ on the plastic cover. The hell?"

"It was a welcome back present. And I wasn't the one who did that."

"Then who? It probably wasn't Ichiru or Yagari—no, definitely not Yagari, and definitely not Ichiru either since Ichiru wants to castrate me and wouldn't give me a gun to save myself the pain…"

Kaien sighed and picked up the ribbons from the tiled airport floor. "No, it was young Miss Yuki."

Zero paled and thanked the heavens that the young Kuran girl wasn't here. "Oh. It was? Whoops. Does she want the plastic box back?"

"Now she doesn't."

"That's great. Just great. Why the hell didn't you tell me this earlier? I thought you did all of this!"

"You think I'd give you that much of my time?"

The two stood in silence, their shadows cast across the floor as the sun prepared to rise over the horizon. Zero looked to the giant window wall with a sigh. "I guess I'm going to have to lie and say that I dropped it on accident and it cracked."

"As if she'll buy that shit."

"Shut up." He glanced back to Kaien. "Where do we go? I'm actually itching to shoot some E's. And on the other hand, I want to sleep to my heart's content, and I've got to get to the Square at eleven."

"We go to the hotel, and you do the latter while I go and inform Yagari that you're back."

"Er—don't."

"Why not?" Kaien eyed Zero suspiciously.

Zero shrugged. "Let him come tomorrow. I prefer not to see him at the Square, you know."

Kaien huffed. "You still aren't going to tell me about the vision?"

The silver-headed Knight grinned. "I prefer not to." He made his way over to the glowing red exit sign. "You'll find out soon enough.

~~o~~

Sometimes, being a fortune-teller, as Ichiru put it so affectionately, was like constantly being trampled into the dirt. Zero felt pain in both. The vision came again and he sat up in his bed, groaning. It was now full daylight, and Zero was cursing the Hanadagi Festival as much as one could curse an event. Why the hell did it have to be held during daylight, of all times? Weren't the Purebloods going to get burns? Damn. He leaned against the headboard and placed his head in his hands. Absentmindedly, he allowed his gaze to relax on the ivory covers, rimmed with gold and sapphire.

He glanced over at his alarm clock and grimaced. He was going to be late if he didn't hurry the hell up. It was ten forty-seven, and he needed to be at the Square by eleven _sharp_.

Zero jumped out of bed, pulled on pants, and attempted to comb his hair down as he opened up the window and leapt out of it. As he landed on the pavement, drawing the astonished gazes and gasps of passersby, he gave up on taming his hair and realized abruptly that he had just landed in a street filled with _humans_. Oh damn. Damn it all. Oh, and Kaien had his gun.

"Um, just forget I did that," he told all of them awkwardly.

Then, he ran. He was actually quite used to running, since he had to escape several of the Association hunting dogs so they didn't track him and bring him down in the dirt, but he could smell the scent of level E's in the air. Thankfully, Zero was long under control. But he was pretty sure that he was the only Vampire Knight who was a vampire, besides his twin. He passed a gun shop and knew that one level E had come to this place recently. Recalling his vision, he knew that the gun was a pistol.

Then, he kept running, because he definitely couldn't stop. He was about twenty miles off from the Square, and it would take him at least ten minutes to get three-quarters of the way there since he didn't know the place. Truthfully, he'd never been to the Square.

_Heptagon, _he thought to himself, and laughed breathlessly as he sped up.

~~o~~

Kaname honestly didn't understand why his mother insisted on him having a Knight. He didn't want one, and he certainly didn't need one to boss him around like a second mother. Sometimes, Juri Kuran overreacted too much for her own good. But Yuki didn't seem to mind when Kaname said that she could have his Knight; she liked her Ichiru just fine. In fact, she _loved_ her Knight to the point that Ichiru Kiryu was constantly following her every day like a shadow as she spoke to him in front of others. Kaname wasn't sure how to think about Ichiru.

Either way, he didn't want a Knight. He never needed one; not even for all his years as the Ancestor of the Kuran family. It wasn't even a secret that only the family knew; it was something that all of the Purebloods knew and respected him for. The last thing he needed was a slight to his honor by assigning a Vampire Knight to guard him.

And by the rumors he caught around the manor, this certain Vampire Knight fled the Association three hundred years ago and was never to be heard of again. At first, Kaname didn't even care as long as the Knight didn't get in his way, but now he was sure that a rogue, wild Knight was sure to impede his plans and give him giant headaches. Also, the Knight was apparently a vampire as well. A level D vampire with heightened senses and Knighted parents. A level D vampire who was related to Yuki's own Knight.

Well, this wouldn't turn out too good, Kaname thought to himself as he carefully constructed flowing words of a long letter to his uncle. It was somewhere along the lines of 'Back off' but with a more polite air. And he was, after all, writing in place of his mother, who had not received the original message because Kaname himself had intercepted it.

Honestly, the Pureblood didn't give up, did he?

After finishing another paragraph, he gloomily looked to the window. It was day time, and normally, he would be asleep right now, had it not been the day of the Hanadagi festival. Each year, they celebrated the re-awakening of the Hanadagi family by having every vampire traipse outside in daylight like idiots. Kaname just didn't care. Yuki, however, was fairly excited about it, and she had planned a giant picnic for herself, Kaname, and Ichiru to go on.

Kaname turned back to his letter with a faint smile. He had written six paragraphs so far, and if he were to write the last one, one could see that the calligraphically inscribed first letter of each paragraph formed, in order, to say, 'Fuck off.' No doubt Rido Kuran would be able to tell. It was like saying, _Take that, Uncle. _

"Sir?" The servant knocked at the door, and Kaname glanced up to look at her. For a moment, Taro's expression withered into something akin to slight fear; then she straightened up and mustered a polite smile. "The young mistress would like to see you outside of the manor."

He waved her off. "Tell her I will arrive momentarily after I am finished writing this letter."

She bowed respectfully and left the doorway, closing it behind her gently.

There wasn't much left to say, and Kaname knew that Rido wouldn't pay attention to anything but the vulgar sentence hidden lightly in the letter. He simply flexed his elegant fingers and continued to write. _'For all the care in the world, no, Juri Kuran will not see you. And even if you are my creator, I have no qualms about obliterating your body. Your nephew, Kaname.'_ Then he rose from his seat and strode over to the door where Taro had been standing beforehand.

He took one glimpse at the letter, and it vanished into smoke. He opened the door and stepped out, allowing it to close by itself with a satisfied click.

The giant lawn of the Square was visible from where Kaname looked, through each window that he passed. He was growing used to seeing the soft red carpet of the hallway beneath his shoes, the beige colored wallpaper he constantly walked by, and the stone pillars imbedded into the walls of the manor. He recalled awakening in this…awakening this manor to _her_. He couldn't remember how long ago it was; ten thousand years, maybe? But that was the first time he ever spoke to her, and her words were so tender. Kaname would have been lost further in recollection, had he not reached the main entrance hall and strode through the open portal.

"Brother!" Yuki exclaimed, hugging him as soon as he stepped into daylight.

As his pupils contracted in the sunshine, Kaname returned the embrace with significantly less excitement. If he had a choice and it didn't mean practically spitting on the Hanadagi name, he would have chosen to remain inside, in a coffin, for all he cared. He consented to having Yuki lead him across the lawn of the Square, around the marble fountain and along the green grass. He was almost getting lost in his thoughts again.

Then…there was a gunshot.

And he was pushed aside into the grass, and something landed on him.

"_Kaname!_"

~~o~~

If Zero hated anything more than needles, it was getting shot with anti-vampire venom, potentially lethal but not enough to bring him to the doors of death. In the arm. He had already cocked his stolen gun and shot the level E vampire as he himself got shot. At least he possessed good enough aim to actual hit the level E in the heart; the bullet pierced his arm and went ramrod into his bone. If guarding Kaname Kuran entitled him to a bullet wound a day, he was sure to kill himself first. Screw the blood pact—

–no , blood was oozing out of his wound like…like melted ice cream out of a cup.

And where the hell was Ichiru? Zero didn't see him anywhere.

Damn, Zero wasn't used to be being shot. Back then, when he guarded the Shirabuki girl, he didn't get shot every single time he tried to protect her. Mostly, she shot them before he could.

He ended up on something really, really soft, and it wasn't grass. It was almost like…a body. A warm, soft but firm body. With horror, he came to the cognizance that he had landed on a Pureblood.

"I-Ichiru?"

Zero rolled over onto his side, groaning. He cracked open an eye and looked at the girl from his vision. His mind agreed with the girl. Where was Ichiru? "I'm not him," he replied, cradling his arm. It was probably broken, no use in trying to convince himself that it wasn't. "I—damn, that hurts…"

"Zero!"

Ichiru's arrival was tantamount to castration or something even worse.

"Shit," Zero said, attempting to elevate himself to a sitting position. His eyes widened as he saw Ichiru running towards him like the speed of light. "Oh shit, don't, Ichiru!"

Too late.

Ichiru tackled him into the grass in a giant bear hug, and Zero groaned as his back hit the grass once more. Next to him sat a very shocked dark-haired vampire, his garnet-colored eyes wide with confusion. The Pureblood he fell on.

"Damn it, that hurts!" Yes, Zero was being a giant sissy. But it wasn't every day that he got shot in the arm. "Ichiru, ow!"

"There are two of you?" exclaimed the girl, sinking to her knees in surprise. She resembled the boy perfectly. "Ichiru, who is this?"

Ichiru stood up and pulled Zero up by the collar, growling. From friendly-welcome-back-brother to I'm-going-to-castrate-you in just seconds, Ichiru glared at Zero as he ground out, "Well, Mistress Yuki, this is my twin brother Zero. And he's going to—" He caught himself just in time before he said 'castration.' The young girl wasn't ready to hear such…adult words. "—die by my hands before I bring him back to life."

Zero coughed, attempting to staunch the flow of blood. "Ichiru, as much as I'd love to sit through a ritual of pain with you, I need a giant bandage," he mumbled. "My arm hurts like hell."

"You got shot?"

"Shot the guy who shot me," Zero replied smugly. "But yeah, I got shot. In the arm."

Then, it clicked. Rocket science happened. Ichiru guarded Yuki Kuran. Ichiru just called that girl Yuki Kuran. Yuki Kuran looked just like the vampire he fell on. The vampire he fell on was Kaname Kuran. And that is how Zero came to the conclusion that he landed on Kaname Kuran. Oh god, this wasn't good. Before Zero could stop himself, his stupid mouth went ahead and probably left the most questionable impression that anyone could ever impress upon anyone else by saying:

"You know, Kaname—pardon my wandering mind—your body is very soft."

Fuck.

Kaname's eyes widened as Yuki giggled loudly. Ichiru's expression went from angry to super angry in t-minus ten seconds. He could just see his career as Kaname's Vampire Knight plopping onto the pavement like dog shit on a summer afternoon. Zero was going to have to face the fact that the loss of blood was being to make him only little more than an idiot on dope.

By embarrassing both of them in front of a flock of vampires, select few of them Pureblood, Zero was sure this was going to go down in history as one of the worst dramatic entrances too. He pried Ichiru's fingers from his collar and stood, wobbling and nearly falling to his feet. When he was sure he wouldn't collapse, he attempted a shaky bow and said, "Greetings, Master Kaname. I am to be your Knight."

And then he waited for the silence to move away so he could sieve through the awkward situation and salvage his and his Pureblood's dignities.

~~o~~

Kaname liked the idea of a Vampire Knight guarding him less and less. Especially when it was _this_ Vampire Knight. He was glad to be out of Zero's presence and spent the rest of the hour with Yuki and her own Knight who reminded Kaname too much of the one whom had 'tackled' him. On the other hand, in the library, Haruka Kuran sat in the giant office chair of the Kuran Manor, a cordial, amicable expression on his face as he regarded the bandaged Zero. "You saved my son, good sir, from being shot in the arm. How can I repay you?"

Zero looked extremely humble, but secretly, he was attempting to fake what appeared to be modesty. "No need, my lord," said Zero extremely politely. It was a miracle his teeth weren't clenched and words not strained. "I am actually to be your son's Knight."

Haruka then proceeded to look absolutely delighted as he pressed his palms together in what seemed to be elation. "What a coincidence! I am very glad that you arrived so soon then, Mr.…"

"Zero Kiryu," Zero supplied, and Haruka's eyes widened.

"You did look very familiar—a bit too familiar," said Haruka, chuckling. "Too coincidental indeed. This worked out quite well… May I ask how old you are?"

"Four hundred and sixty-three," the Knight answered, a smile on his face as well. "As everyone has probably heard, I guarded Sara Shirabuki for ninety years and retired soon after into the woods for three hundred years."

Haruka held up stapled papers with a curious expression on his face. "Say, Zero. Can I call you Zero?" Upon Zero nodding, Haruka continued. "It says on these records that you were one hundred and eighty-one centimeters tall."

Zero raised an eyebrow. He didn't ever recall telling the Association how tall he was. Or how old he was, for that matter. "…Where did they get my height?"

"They?"

"The Association. They were the ones who gave the paper to you, right?"

Haruka shook his head. "My brother Rido gave them to me."

An uneasy feeling settled in Zero's stomach, but he didn't question it. "My apologies." He politely gestured for Haruka to continue.

"Now, you are taller than my son is, and my son is one hundred and eighty-four. How is this so?"

A sense of déjà vu accompanied Zero's disconcerted smile. "I lived off of nothing but the blood of boars, bears, lions, and other giant animals for a long time. I never noticed the change in my height until now, actually," Zero responded. "I never thought to think how it might have affected me."

"So you have not fed from a human or vampire in a long time?"

"No, sir. Not for three hundred years."

Haruka looked amazed and leaned forward onto the desk. "And…how am I to be sure that one with power such as yours will not betray my son?"

Zero thumbed the bandage on his left arm and looked straight into the garnet-colored eyes of Haruka Kuran. "I swore a blood pact, my lord. I am never to betray your son, because I will otherwise kill myself before I enact such a crime."

The head of the Kuran family rested back against the chair, a thoughtful look on his face as he gazed at Zero. Silence reigned, and Zero's eyes flickered over to the mahogany bookshelves, lined with books of new and old, all with the famous orchid insignia of the Kuran family engraved on the spine of each. Sunlight flickered in through the library as Haruka continued to stare with his piercing scrutinizing. Then, Haruka finally spoke, his voice calm and quiet like Kaname's.

"I believe you."

Zero stood and shook his hand with his right hand.

~~o~~

Zero entered Kaname's room without qualm, examining the place carefully. Though it was rather silly, he even sniffed the furniture just in case he missed any signs of level E vampires around. When he was satisfied with the fact that the room was safe, he grinned to himself and plopped down onto the couch, allowing the back of his head to touch the top edge of the cushioned seat. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

Then his eyes opened again.

Goodness, his arm hurt so badly. He had been shot right in the elbow. And his graceless fall was something that everyone witnessed. It resembled more of a tackle than a push to save a life, actually. If Zero had seen it, his suspicions would only have been confirmed.

And then there was the matter of falling on the Pureblood he was supposed to guard. For a moment, Kaname Kuran's eyes had turned blood red with the scent of blood as Zero landed on him. Also, _God_, Kaname's body was soft. It was muscular, sure, but it was like resting on a muscled pillow. Perfection.

_Argh, why am I even thinking about that?_

Zero resisted the urge to bang his head against the hard part of the couch.

Just when his urge nearly won out, the door opened and Zero jumped to his feet, alert at once. He grinned when he realized it was just Yuki and bowed as much as he could without jarring his arm, attempting to mask his expression before he caught it.

She smiled with that mischievous expression. "Just call me Yuki, Zero."

Zero nodded and straightened up. Yuki had to tilt her head up to meet his eyes. He could just see the expression in her eyes: _…He's even taller than my brother._

"Would you like anything to eat?" she asked.

"No, but thank you."

Tentatively, she stepped around the low coffee table and stood right before Zero, a nervous look on her face. "Do you…eat food?" The smile was gone from her face, instead replaced by an expression oscillating between her anxiety and her duty as a host, though this wasn't even her room.

He smiled at her, and she stepped back slightly, a blush on her face. "Never heard of it," he answered, bending down slightly so they were at eye level with each other. Then, teasingly, he licked his lips. Sensing her conflicted emotions, he straightened up again, causing relief to flood her face. "Do you know where the young lord is?"

Yuki tilted her head to the side. "Kaname? He's actually still outside, speaking with his friend Takuma. I came here because I was going to prepare tea for him…"

"Tea," Zero repeated.

"You've never heard of tea either?"

"Oh, no, I've heard of tea," Zero hastily amended. "It's just… Tea tastes very bitter." He made a face, and Yuki laughed. "Is your brother a very bitter person?"

Yuki giggled. "No, he isn't. He's very nice." Then, fixing Zero with a gaze that he swore was so penetrating that he wanted to shy away, she added, "He's very soft too."

Zero choked, and Yuki slipped past him to the table by the window, an extremely amused look on her face as she smiled widely to herself, readying tea for Kaname.


	3. 2: Yagari

The Vampire Knight

**Rating: T **(coarse language, profanity, ideas generally unsuitable for those not open-minded enough to accept them)

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Plot Summary: **_Zero retired from being a Vampire Knight because of his agonizing, headache-causing visions. And now, he's being blackmailed into guarding the heir of the Kuran family, Kuran Kaname._

Early update! You guys are such a great crowd that I couldn't help but do this for you guys. Thanks to all who reviewed, alerted, and favorited! I also added a geeky Harry Potter reference in here! See if you can find it! I'll come up with a prize later. Also, yes, there is the good ol' morphine and Vicodin featured in this story, because Zero needs good medicine to help his headaches and I can't be bothered to come up with Japanese-to-English names.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight.

* * *

><p>~~o~~<p>

"_All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."_ - Anatole France

~~o~~

* * *

><p>"This is serious," said Cross, lacing his fingers together as he leaned forward onto the desk. "Order in this damn Court!"<p>

He banged the gavel against the surface of the wooden table as he sat facing the entirety of the Court, almost all living Vampire Knights present.

"You must all listen to me."

The Court fell silent, and Zero peered out from under his hood, pulling on the sleeve of his jacket as he attempted to straighten it. His arm had healed yesterday.

Cross, with his glasses removed, was an intimidating figure when serious, and he called for no nonsense. He would have scared the shit out of Zero if Zero hadn't known him for the first hundred years of his, Zero's, life. A business-like expression was on his face as he stared out into the crowd of adept Knights, causing the most faint-hearted to look away. Yagari didn't even flinch away and looked at him with the same intensity.

"War is coming. War is coming to the vampires and us, and we will not return unscathed if there is not a way to prevent it. Someone sent a declaration of war to us, three days ago, and I was just notified." His face contorted into a pained, twisted look as he smiled. He held up a thin, folded piece of paper, and Zero faintly wondered how such a little piece of worthless paper could contain something important enough to bring the entire Knight body to Court. "We were given seventeen days to prepare, and this means that we now only have a fortnight to gather our might and send our troops out to war. I will not accept this outrage. If this is a petty prank, someone tell me right now, for I will not be fooled. I do not wish to be fooled, but if the only alternative to this is delegating everyone to needless bloodlust, we shall go to war.

"Someone," Cross said quietly. "Someone tell me this is not real."

Zero stood, and Kaien turned to him, a silent _sit down_ look that caused Zero to step back half a step. But Zero did not falter. Cross was faltering, and he didn't know which way to go. A declaration of war. A fucking declaration of fucking war. And it was right before all of them.

"We cannot hide from reality, Kaien Cross. This is every bit as real as it is palpable. You have seen the note yourself. If it is a declaration of war, treat it as a war. If it is a petty little prink, still, treat it as a war. Hope that we can make it through; hope is all we have. We could keep faith. We can't fool ourselves into thinking it isn't time to fight; there hasn't been a war for so long, and it's time for one to happen. We just got caught in the storm. Let's live not in fear. There's no use living in fear, if there's nothing left for us at all. I say that we take this seriously."

Kaien's expression turned blank. "We could die."

"Then we'll die," replied Zero. This was no place to start preaching life, but if the Association lost its head, if the Association lost Kaien, the Association would lose its mind too. And they would all fall apart. "We'll die protecting people that we loved because someone declared war against us. We'll die because we fought a war. But you can't just wait for the war to come to us. What good will it do then if we still get killed, but we didn't even fight to save our lives? What would you do, Cross?"

He stepped back and held one of his arms akimbo as he flung back his hood and gestured with his hand to the Court at large.

"Our will is with yours."

~~o~~

After the meeting, Zero sat in a conference room with two unhappy Vampire Knights. Cross had left to gather his thoughts, so he was not present. One of them was his twin brother, Ichiru. The other was a man, missing an eye and looking extremely intimidating as he stared Zero down in what appeared to be a penetrating gaze. Well, Zero always felt uncomfortable facing off his mentor, be it the training ring or in a supermarket store with a box of salted Ritz crackers between them. Yagari Toga was not a man to fool around with, and Zero knew that a little too well to feel comfortable about it. He shifted slightly in his cushioned seat as he attempted to stare out of the glass door and onto the balcony of the Vampire Knight Association edifice.

No, Yagari did not look happy.

"Zero."

The silver-headed Knight looked up to Yagari, looking very calm and composed and feeling the exact opposite. "Yagari," he replied politely, dipping his head in respect. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ichiru lean back into his seat with an exasperated, annoyed look on his face. Whether or not the annoyance was directed towards him, Zero wasn't sure.

"You hesitated for a moment, when you shot the level E. I can see it on your face."

For a moment, Zero blinked. They had just gone through a Court session in which war was officially formalized. And Yagari was… What the hell. Just…what the hell? Zero's expression broke out of its cool, disinterested façade and turned to disbelief. "What the hell! After three hundred years of not seeing me, the first thing you say is a fucking 'You hesitated for a moment' to greet me? How does that make any sort of sense in any sort of way?" He threw his hands up and started to laugh. "You haven't changed at all!"

Yagari sighed, an old-time grin on his face. "Constructive criticism is good for you, kid. I heard from Cross about your fighting all these mountain lions and boars and bears. Didn't want you to get all high and mighty and end up losing to an E like nothing happened."

"Gee, thanks," returned Zero, a wry smile on his face. "So you heard from Kaien about my badass adventures. Did he tell you that I grew little more than an inch in height?"

"You make that sound like something to be proud of." Yagari smirked. "I'm still taller."

Zero muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'old ass.' Then, he turned to Ichiru with a trying, award-winning smile, extending his arms out. "Are you still…mad at me, 'chiru? A life isn't a life without your twin…"

Ichiru rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless, coming over and plopping down on Zero's lap, sufficiently sending Zero into a bit of pain. "And what about the people who have no twins? What do you say about them, huh, Zero?"

"They are their own twins." Zero brushed hair from Ichiru's face, ignoring the fact that his leg was losing circulation. "But I've got my twin right here." As he said this, he gave the resigned, attempted-but-defeated smile that he was renowned for that could crack Ichiru's cold shell in a minute. Ichiru glowered and looked away, pretending that he wasn't seeing Zero at all. "And I think he still loves me," Zero continued. "I hope he still loves me."

Yagari was across from them, silently amused. He didn't have to go to movie theatres to watch theatrics; he had a twin set of idiots, right here, to make him feel entertained.

Ichiru was still trying to ignore Zero, though he was sitting on his brother's lap. Zero's expression now wasn't a subdued, kicked-puppy look; he never did kicked-puppy looks. And it wasn't that Zero wasn't capable of looking like a kicked-puppy—he could. But he preferred to keep his dignity and settled for a I-tried-my-best-and-I-still-lost-the-one-I-loved-the-most look, like he came out of an apocalypse after failing to save his girlfriend or something. It was a melancholy look that made Ichiru's stomach digest itself even quicker as his hands shook with the effort not to glance at his brother to see if Zero had quit the look yet.

"Don't quit me yet, Ichiru," said Zero quietly, and Ichiru looked in surprise, cursing himself.

"Fine. I forgive you," muttered Ichiru, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Zero.

But Zero grinned full out. "I won out."

"As usual," said Yagari, standing up. "Well, there's no point in hounding you about that E; that was the only criticism of construction that I had anyways. Good job, kid. It took them three years to find you."

Zero suddenly looked sullen. "Yes. And it took three minutes of Cross threatening to blackmail me to get me to come back."

"What blackmail did he use?" Ichiru asked, curiosity piqued greatly. Not many people could find any dirt on Zero except for the dirt on his skin when he refused to take showers out of weariness. "It must have been pretty bad if he got you to bail on your quest to become the Head of the Living-in-the-Wilderness Committee."

"Not telling you. The reason why I came back was so _no_ one could tell you." He pointed to Yagari and Ichiru. "Both of you."

"You can tell us, Zero," Yagari replied with a straight face. "You could count on us to tell everyone afterwards." He lit a cigarette and balanced it at the corner of his mouth as he inhaled, an arched eyebrow as he continued. "How long do you think you could have hid it, Zero? I know you get really drunk off your ass and everyone's cradle gets rocked in the process."

Zero blanched. "You—you know?"

"Of course I know, you idiot. I wasn't that far drunk off my ass like you were to not be able to tell that my own student had kissed me." Yagari looked extremely amused now. "Wasn't the best experience of my life, but Cross was pretty pissed at that."

The implication was still there. It was a bit strange, but all Vampire Knights, once born a Vampire Knight or turned vampire, were willing to go both ways on the gender preferences in pursuing sexual relationships. Most of the time, Vampire Knights conformed to the way of the humans and stuck for ramrod straight. As for Zero, he didn't give a shit. Yagari could have preferred animals over humans and Zero would be drinking wine with him every other day to celebrate it.

"Cross is married," Zero pointed out.

Yagari rolled his eyes. "Cross might as well be married to me too, Zero. Spends more time with me than he spends time with that Ayano girl."

Ichiru sighed at Yagari. "Yagari," he said slowly, as if reprimanding a child gently. "You liked Ayano too."

"Don't remind me. That last escapade with the three of us was horrible. I decided that I'd just have Cross marry Ayano."

Zero resisted the urge to bang his head against a wall. "You won't be happy that way, Yagari. But enough of this marriage counseling shit; you and Shizuka, huh?"

"I'm sober right now," Yagari said defensively, taking the cigarette from his mouth and breathing out a thin stream of smoke. "And though she's the beauty of the century, she's ferocious. Crazy. Insane." He shuddered. "Scares the hell out of me. There's no way it would work out. There aren't any laws prohibiting it, since we do live forever and she won't die of heartbreak since I won't die at all—hell, she hates me, but that's beside the point—but all vampires have one mindset, and that's: maintain the Purebloods. Intermarry, for fuck's sake, but make sure the Purebloods stay alive and well. Be incestuous, for all the Council of Elders care, but the Purebloods must have their lineage continue."

"And if the Pureblood line continues with a mixing of Knight?" asked Ichiru, his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration as he attempted to read Yagari's expression.

"The Knight dies."

The three of them sucked in a breath, and Yagari had a rictus on his face.

"It's against the Elder laws for any Pureblood to have children with a Knight, whether or not the Knight is a noble or not. Usually, vampires that became Vampire Knights—weird notation, I know—are level D, like you guys. Easy to control and able to go out into the sunlight to do the Pureblood's dirty work, but I suppose it is possible for someone from the Aido or Ichijou family to become one just to protect the Kuran family. Either way, the Knight is beheaded, their bodies charred but not burnt to ashes, and they are buried facing the center of the earth to shame them."

"That's horrible," Ichiru mumbled, a look of horror plastered on his face as he pressed his palm to his mouth, his fingers digging at the hollows in his cheeks. "And the child?"

Yagari looked at them both evenly. "Dies with the Knight. It's horrible. The Knights are running low because of this. These Pureblood women seducing them; it's killed us off. They and their male children—all of them were born as male children who never lived past three years old—were killed in the same way. I hate it." His light blue eyes darkened. "They killed my brother. The Council and the Association killed my brother, and his kid. That kid… His fourth birthday would have been two days after he got beheaded and burnt."

"Yagari…" said Ichiru, rising from where he sat—on Zero's lap; yes, it was official that Zero lost circulation in his leg—and placing a hand on Yagari's shoulder in a gesture of consolation. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry about your brother."

Zero stood as well, trying not to fall over. "Don't do this to yourself, Yagari. Don't pity yourself." He looked at Yagari sharply.

"Don't assess me, kid."

"We're not kids anymore, Yagari. None of us here are kids anymore. I took a bullet four days ago to the arm because someone tried to kill the Pureblood I'm supposed to guard. The Vampire Knights are dying off. There's a giant war coming, and I can sense it. Don't pity the dead, Yagari," said Zero. "Pity the living."

Yagari looked up, almost in wonder. "You're right." He turned to Ichiru. "Both of you aren't kids anymore."

"Glad to have you back," Zero replied wryly, as the three of them engaged in a three way hug.

But as soon as Zero pulled back, a vision assaulted him, causing him to stagger back and hold his head in his hands.

_A man, dressed in black. Reading a letter and perusing the contents for only a second before it goes up in flames. Then, a cruel laugh as he turned to the sky. He resembled Haruka and Kaname Kuran greatly. _(So this guy was probably related to them.)

"_Is that how it is, nephew?" he said quietly, a hint of dark fury in his voice as he laughed. "Then I shall wait for you to come to me."_

_He was in a dark cave, and there was whimpering from inside as he strode into the darkness._

_A shriek was heard._

Nephew…

Zero ignored the concerned gaze of Ichiru and the questioning gaze of Yagari. Well, it didn't seem too likely that Haruka's brother, therefore Kaname's uncle, was too mean, by what Zero heard of him, so it was probably Haruka's uncle. At least, he hoped.

~~o~~

As soon as Zero and Ichiru readied themselves to go back to the Kuran Manor, Zero was sure that an attack had been planned on them. On purpose. During the night. Somehow, they had been attacked by another level E, and this one had been pretty strong—which meant the fall from grace must have been really hard. Within a blink, they had been ambushed, and Ichiru was pinned against a tree by a crazed vampire as Zero attempted to get up, trying to recover from being winded. Grimacing, Zero tried to raise his head, or his gun, but preferably his gun.

"Ichiru," he rasped, coughing. "Get out of…line…fire…"

Ichiru hit the level E in the face and fought madly, having her in a stranglehold. It didn't seem to bother the lunatic vampire, but Ichiru was doing better than Zero was. "Can't move. Do it, Zero."

"Hell no; Yuki will castrate me if I shoot you."

With the most willpower he could muster, he dragged himself up from where he lay, coughing as he stumbled over and cocked the gun right to the vampire's temple.

"Don't. Move."

But the level E turned around and ran her fingernails across his face, leaving one claw mark emblazoned into his cheek. Zero attempted to hold her still, but she got a couple good clouts on his face and his abdomen, causing him to keel over slightly as she clawed at his head again.

"Fuck!" he hissed as Ichiru took his gun and shot her right in the chest. Zero fell back onto the floor, clutching his face. Ichiru silently waited for him to get up; for the sake of everything in the world, he had just been shot in the arm four days ago. He could deal with this. Ichiru knew.

"I need to get shot and clawed more often," he muttered, finally recovered from his sudden burst of pain. He removed his hand and grimaced as he saw some of his flesh fall away. "Is my cheekbone visible? At all? Just in case the Kurans see me like this."

Ichiru knelt down. "Worried for appearances? You drama queen. Nope. No bone. Just open gashes. Two."

Zero groaned. "Shut up… My face hurts like hell and you're here telling me I'm a drama queen."

Both of them didn't expect it when the level E rose again and hit Ichiru on the head, enough to cause him to bleed. Ichiru collapsed to the floor with a thud and Zero shot her with Bloody Rose and got her for good.

"Stupid level E vampires!" Zero muttered, getting up. He tugged Ichiru on the collar. "Ichiru?" There was no response. "Ichiru!"

Ichiru's head lolled to the side. He was unconscious.

"Oh fuck this all."

~~o~~

Zero got back all right. He got back pissed, annoyed, and angry out of his mind, dripping blood from his cheek and bruised with a probable broken rib. Groaning, he carried Ichiru back to the manor, his face the perfect picture of irritation as he strode into the portal and past the maid who cursed him because she just finished mopping the floor. Zero didn't respond and went up the stairs two steps at a time, lugging his twin all the way to Yuki's room.

"Yuki!"

Her head, crowned with brown hair, came forward from the opening in the door, and her eyes widened as soon as she saw Zero carrying Ichiru.

"Um…which one are you?" she asked, her voice small.

"He's the rude one," Ichiru mumbled, and Zero rolled his eyes.

"Next time, I'm leaving you with the E," he replied, nudging the door open with his foot and striding into the room. He unceremoniously dumped Ichiru onto the bed, a groan received in his efforts, and turned back to leave when Yuki placed a hand on his elbow.

"I… I don't know what to do," Yuki said quietly, eyes brimming with tears. "He won't die, will he?"

Zero blinked at the question. He never really gave a thought about asking anyone if his twin would die, and he knew Ichiru never did either, because they both knew if the other was going to survive or not. And Zero knew that his brother was going to live, but it looked like Yuki didn't. "I—" He was about to say, 'I hope he does,' in a teasing way, because he knew Ichiru would laugh wryly and toss a pillow at him. But Yuki wasn't used to it, so he caught himself. "I know he'll live." He tapped his temple. "Twin telepathy."

"Really?" Yuki looked amazed.

Well, Zero wouldn't have called it that, but why not? "Yeah. Don't you worry, kiddo."

She pouted. "Don't call me kiddo! I'm probably older than you?"

"How old are you?"

"How old are _you?_"

"Four hundred and sixty-three."

She sighed. "I should have known."

"Didn't Ichiru tell you how old he was?"

"He said he forgot."

"Bullsh—crap. Bull-crap. Well, Miss Yuki, how old are you?"

She blushed. "Three hundred and twenty-seven. You're about fifty years younger than Kaname though."

"He's old," Zero replied, a grin on his face. "He's a really, really old vampire. I'm still very young compared to Kaname."

"Still very young compared to who?"

Cursing silently, Zero turned around, prepared to face his Pureblood. He attempted to smile charmingly at Kaname, but he was pretty sure that it looked weird with two scratches across his right cheek. He gave up the smile and settled for a bow, and Kaname's gaze flickered to Yuki's bed where Ichiru was, his blood-stained hair on her pillow.

"You're not a very pretty sight, Zero," noted Kaname.

He supposed he didn't look too good, with a blood-stained formal shirt and torn pants, as well as a bruise on his jaw and a hunching position to help alleviate some of the pain in his ribcage, but still, Zero gawked at him. "You know which one I am?"

"As Ichiru said, you are the 'rude one,'" he replied, amused.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Zero stood there, at a loss of what to do. He could have stood there staring at Kaname all day, or he could have made some sort of movement to get outside of Yuki's suffocating, flowery room, but he settled for the former and stood there staring at his Pureblood. Kaname simply stared back at him, his garnet-colored gaze unfaltering as they remained standing there. Yuki awkwardly stood on the sidelines, watching them exchange odd glares that held no anger.

Both were snapped out of it when Ichiru shifted onto his side. Yuki hurried to the bed, and Zero sighed, striding out the door and wiping blood from his cheek. It stung. It most definitely stung, and Zero was going to go to the infirmary—they had to have one in this monster of a house, goddamn it was so big—to get it bandaged because his face hurt, and staring at Kaname made it hurt even more. Of course, he could hear Kaname's footsteps following after him. And soon after those footsteps stopped, Zero could feel Kaname's breath on his neck, a ticklish, feather-like sensation, his elbow was grasped, and he was pulled back so he was facing Kaname.

Zero was definitely spending a long time in hell, because he nearly leaned forward...and what would have happened then?

The two of them pulled back right before their foreheads collided, and Zero cleared his throat.

Kaname spoke first, unfazed. "I need to speak with you for important matters. I have heard of the upcoming war."

_Isn't Kaname just full of surprises?_ Zero thought. "Yeah. We'll die if it happens."

"Don't do that, Zero," Kaname said, his voice gently admonishing. Was it always this soft? "Don't be such a pessimist. We can keep faith."

Zero had almost said that exact thing to Cross in front of the entire Court. He smiled at Kaname and leaned close, loving the fact that he was one centimeter taller than Kaname, though it didn't make too much of a difference. "I'm being a realist," he replied. "But yes, we could."

Kaname pulled Zero alongside him as they strode to Kaname's own office.

"Forget the infirmary then…"Zero muttered.

"We don't have one, actually," Kaname answered apologetically, pulling out a wooden spindled chair from a book-shelved desk and placing it before his giant table. He turned around and clicked his tongue distastefully at Zero's facial wounds. "What happened?"

"Attacked by level E's. They've been appearing so suddenly that I can't even ready Bloody Rose before I get Bloody Rose-d on my face." Zero took a seat at the now stationary chair; Kaname took his seat opposite him. "If there's no infirmary, I guess I'll just walk around with two scratch marks on my face." Zero made a face and pretended to sound like Yagari. "'_Hey, kid, what happened to your face?' _Well, Yagari, I tripped over a stone, and my face got assaulted by a rose bush."

Kaname chuckled and pulled something from his pocket. He tossed it at Zero. "Here. I suppose talking could wait. Go wash your wounds with it."

Zero caught it without blinking, noting that it was a soft fabric. A handkerchief. Of course Kaname would keep one. He looked like the type to do it.

"Thanks."

~~o~~

"So let me get this straight," said Zero, pressing the handkerchief to his face as he stepped out of the office's washroom. They had started talking as soon as Zero insisted they get it over with. "You think that a relative of yours may have some dealings with the level E's and that the forthcoming war was actually initiated by this relative of yours? Who is this relative of yours?"

Kaname absentmindedly lined up the pens on his desk. "My uncle."

"Your father's brother?"

Kaname sighed. "My father married his sister. My parents are both related to my uncle."

"Okay. So, your _only_ uncle."

"Yes."

A sense of foreboding came to Zero, but he squashed it down. For some reason, his heart was telling him to remember something, but his mind was being an asshole and wouldn't follow through with it. "What's your uncle's name?"

Glancing to the window, Kaname muttered, "Rido. Rido Kuran."

Now he remembered. Shit, shit, shit. It was _that_ guy. "Did you…send him a letter?"

Kaname looked up at Zero, shocked. "How did you know about it?"

Zero tapped his temple, pretending to shoot himself in the head. But he didn't smile as he told Kaname, "Not many people know this, Kaname—" He ignored the shocked look on Kaname's face as he called him by his first name, "—that I can see a bit of the future. I'm not loopy in the head or anything, but I have visions. Prognostications. Prophecies." Zero wrinkled his nose at the last one. "Let's just go with visions."

"And they give you major headaches? Migraines?"

"How do you figure?"

"Your records are in the hands of us Kurans now, Zero. I know about your overdosing on Vicodin."

"I could have gotten morphine, but they refused."

"They?"

"The Association with the Knight and all of them. Either way, you know about it? I didn't think you'd be that interested in my past criminal escapades. Although I wouldn't consider overdosing on Vicodin anything too serious. The headaches hurt like hell. You're lucky you don't have them."

"Do the headaches vary in pain?"

Zero laughed. "Oh, definitely. Before you got shot, I had a major headache."

Kaname's eyes widened. "You saw the shooter preparing to injure me?" He spoke as if he didn't even care that he had almost died.

"Yeah. Pushed you out of the way just in time and took the bullet. I was a second late though; if I had pushed you out of the way a second earlier, no one would have gotten shot." Zero looked rueful. "Except the Ori Manor, maybe, but they could use plaster to fill up the hole."

"Zero…thank you."

Zero removed the handkerchief and grimaced at the blood. Then he turned to Kaname. "What for?"

"Taking a wound meant for me," Kaname replied, his expression strangely melancholy as he stared at Zero. His face appeared to be almost…nostalgic. Reminiscent of a past occurrence.

Zero sighed and shook his head, standing right before Kaname's desk. He dropped the sanguinolent handkerchief before Kaname and placed his hands on the table, leaning close to Kaname so they were face-to-face, only a handspan apart. Zero mustered the most sincerity he could—and all of his dignity, so he wouldn't lose it—and said, in a very calm voice, "I'm your Knight, Kaname. I'm supposed to die for you, because you will always come first, before everything else."

Oh god, it sounded like a love confession. Kaname closed his eyes, and Zero wanted to pull back so badly, or just lean forward, or do _something_, because the silence was killing him, and in the moonlight, Kaname was beautiful. And everything was silent, and Zero, the notorious noise-maker, could not stand it.

"I didn't mean for it to come out that way," Zero said feebly, looking faintly embarrassed and repentant as he sat back down in his seat, a safe distance _away_ from Kaname.

"Let's just focus on the war," Kaname said quietly. "I require one person to accompany me on my journey to find my uncle. I will kill him."

"I guess I'm that one person?"

"Correct."

Zero inhaled calmly; then he exhaled with excitement. "When are we going?"

"Tomorrow morning, where no one will track our movements."


	4. 3: Ink

The Vampire Knight

**Rating: T **(coarse language, profanity, ideas generally unsuitable for those not open-minded enough to accept them)

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Plot Summary: **_Zero retired from being a Vampire Knight because of his agonizing, headache-causing visions. And now, he's being blackmailed into guarding the heir of the Kuran family, Kuran Kaname._

Thanks to all who are reading, reviewed, alerted, and favorited. Congratulations to the people who figured out the Harry Potter reference. Sorry for a late update too. The fourth chapter may take a bit longer to write, as I do need plot development with Zero and Kaname. Also, after you've finished reading, do tell me if it was good or bad! This was my first attempt at...making them tease each other.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight.

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><p>~~o~~<p>

'_Change is the only constant. Hanging on is the only sin.'_ - Denise McCluggage

~~o~~

* * *

><p>By a silent departure, Kaname was pretty serious. He wasn't sure he wanted Zero as his companion, but he had already requested his Knight's presence and couldn't go back on his word to take Zero with him. Either way, he was hoping that they could put what happened yesterday behind them. Kaname was undoubtedly still slightly discomfited at Zero's blunt statement of him 'coming first before everything else.' It sounded like the silver-headed vampire had been declaring his love for Kaname. Afterwards, Zero also recognized the implications of his words and quietly said that he had not meant for it to sound that way. The words sounded unconvincing to the both of them.<p>

"Zero, are you prepared?" he asked, rousing Zero from his sleep by shaking his shoulder.

Zero was splayed across the couch, his eyes closed as he breathed in through his nose quietly, his bangs hiding part of his face. He yawned as he was woken from his sleep and opened an eye in a weary fashion. "Why did you wake me so early? Am I prepared for what?"

Kaname wanted to roll his eyes, but he was beyond that now.

Zero's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, okay, it's morning already?"

"I would not have roused you from sleep if it had not been morning," Kaname replied.

The silver-headed Knight rose from his relaxed position and stretched, his muscles stiff as hell. "Finished packing?"

Gesturing to the bag on the table, Kaname gave him a look that said, 'Do you honestly think I wouldn't have prepared for this?' "Have _you_ finished packing?"

Zero laughed. "Of course not. I didn't bother to."

"And why not?"

Mimicking Kaname's actions from earlier, Zero gestured to himself and said to Kaname, with the same look of 'Do you honestly think I would have prepared for this?', "I lived three hundred years in the wild. In the forest. With no change of clothes and a stolen gun to keep myself safe. I doubt it's going to take more than one hundred to find your uncle. And I hope your uncle isn't as powerful as two starving, raving mountain lions chasing you while you've just woken up."

Kaname sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "At least pack another change of clothes. I'm not looking forward to waiting for you to wash your clothes while being stark-naked."

Zero smirked. "Why not?"

The Pureblood stared at him with a cold gaze. "Because I was raised as a modest being."

"Modest doesn't even modify you, Kaname." Zero took Kaname's wrists in hand. "Try imperious."

"When have I ever demonstrated that I am not modest to you?" he replied.

"The way you carry yourself, Kaname," Zero said, pulling Kaname closer by his wrists, "is _anything_ but modest."

The door to the office opened just as Kaname prepared to step back and shove Zero aside, and Yuki stepped into the room. She stopped short, however, when she saw her brother and his Knight. Zero turned around at the sound of a door opening, and Kaname looked at her from standing behind Zero, successfully attempting to mask the horror in his eyes at her finding them standing like this. She looked ready to bolt, her face a deep blush as she saw the two.

Zero stepped back silently, with as much dignity as he could muster, and turned around to smile at her. He bowed politely. Then he turned to Kaname.

"I think I'll go speak with my brother," he said quietly, and left the room.

~~o~~

When they left, Kaname was in a silent, brooding mode, and Zero was entertaining a freaking bruise on his jaw. Ichiru hadn't taken it well, the fact that Zero would be leaving _again_, five days after coming back to him, but Zero reassured his twin that he'd be back, because no one could kill freaking Zero Kiryu. And then that's where Ichiru punched him in the face on instinct for him being so proud, leaving a pretty giant bruise that successfully injured Zero's pride too, but he wasn't really going to get up hyped up because of a small little bruise…that turned out to be a giant bruise that hurt like hell fifty minutes after leaving the Kuran Manor.

Surprises, to Zero, were almost never pleasant.

They walked side-by-side, awkwardly. Zero wasn't sure whether or not to walk ahead of Kaname—which probably wouldn't have been wise—or stand abreast with him, but he certainly wasn't going to stand behind him like a servant.

"Hey, Kuran."

Kaname glanced to him. "So it's _Kuran_ now?"

"What do you mean?"

The Pureblood looked back to the path with a blasé expression. "At the Square, you called me Kaname. Now you've decided to be formal?"

Zero sighed. "Well, I'm sorry if you wanted me to be formal before. But I just thought it would have been a bad idea to call you Kuran in case it might have given you the impression that I was some sort of arrogant bastard…"

"You care for first impressions?"

For a moment, Zero stopped in his tracks as he realized what they both just exchanged to each other. "Do I?" He never thought much of first impressions. If someone though he was an asshole, then that was fine with him. If someone thought him a sweetheart, then…he'd just reluctantly let it slide. But… "Wait." He held up his hand to the light and blinked. "Hey, Kura—_Kaname_, are you sure it's alright for you to be walking out in daylight? We could wait until night, so we could run."

He noted that Kaname's pace was really slow. As in, a pained slow, as if some sort of little minor injury was hindering him from walking in his long strides.

"No, I am all right. I simply thought that your injuries would impede your mobility." Kaname didn't even look up once as he kept moving. "Thusly, I have maintained this slow gait to ensure that you are not bothered by your marks."

Zero stared at him and continued walking, catching up to him. He hadn't been expecting that sort of answer. "You… You… None of my injuries were anywhere beneath my abdomen. Let's run."

Kaname finally turned to him look at him, and by 'look at him', Zero meant _analyze_. "You were limping though."

"Because I was carrying my twin."

Garnet-colored eyes narrowed. "Are you positively sure that you have not suffered any wound to your lower body?"

"Absolutely sure."

A playful, teasing—or mocking; Zero wasn't sure how to interpret it—light appeared in those eyes, but Kaname's face remained emotionless. "Well then. Let us run."

Zero wasn't even sure how they ended up like this, competing against each other like little children, seeing who could run the fastest. In the end, Kaname beat him by two inches as they reached some nearby heavily populated town. Zero skidded to a halt, regaining his balance as he stared out from behind a tree. Kaname leaned against another one, relaxed and glancing at the town uncaringly as if he would have preferred not to enter it.

So, naturally, Zero said, "Let's go in the town."

To which Kaname replied, "No."

"Why not?"

Kaname fixed him with a serious gaze. "I did not bring you along, Zero, so we could go touring every single town and city in the land."

"And I didn't come along, Kaname, so I'd get stuck in the woods with you forever, because you _know_ that I've been living in several places that are the identical siblings of the spot we are currently standing in right now, and I've been living there for three hundred years."

Both were strong-willed individuals; it was just a matter of whose intimidation won out.

But Kaname was a bit too lenient. Years of having Yuki beg him to take her to festivals out in the smaller towns caused him to develop a tolerance for these sort of things. He honestly wished that Zero was like Aido; at least the blond-haired vampire would actually heed his every command and even ask for another task. And also, it would have been easier to order Aido around. With Zero, he was quite sure that if he tried that, there would be Bloody Rose, one of the instruments of _her_ heart, pointed at his temple.

"Kiryu," Kaname said firmly, resorting to last names so he wouldn't relent. "What is so good about that town that you wish to visit it?"

Zero looked faraway, in his own little world, with his eyes lost in nostalgia. "I used to take Ichiru to this place after I finished one of the tasks that every Vampire Knight has to complete."

"Thirty-three tasks."

The silver-headed Knight nodded. "However, I took on the family-brunt package deal and took on sixty-six tasks, along with another one because the Association thought I was giving them cheek."

"You probably were," replied Kaname, fighting a smile.

Grinning, Zero placed his index finger to his lips. "Don't tell anyone!" he mock-whispered. "My secret will be out then." He rolled his eyes to show he was kidding. "The Association council members are assholes. Kaien is just head of the Court, but he's not anywhere as bad as the actual council members. The tasks fluctuated in level, I guess. There were so many different tasks to do, like gather a scroll from this old pawn-shop owner, or kill seventy level E's. I completed all of them."

Kaname inspected Zero's expression closely. "And how many years did it take you?"

Zero shrugged. "I didn't do them in order, so it must have been somewhere near seventeen years to all of them."

"Impressive," remarked Kaname. "But if it takes us seventeen years to find Rido, I'm not sure I'll be saying that again."

Sighing, Zero held Kaname's gaze. "Where is this uncle of yours anyway? Do you even have a lead on where he is, or where he's going?"

Kaname glanced to the sky. "I have my suspicions that he may or may not have gone to the Mound of Izien or the Cave of Unpleasant Truths."

"That cave sounds unpleasant," Zero said jokingly.

Kaname didn't look to amused; in fact, he nodded solemnly. "It is unpleasant. My father once went to the cave, and he found it stifling and inducing claustrophobia. Perhaps we will have to go there, if he is not at the Mound of Izien."

"Kaname, I think we may have to go to the cave."

"Why?" There was no contempt or suspicion in Kaname's voice; just curiosity.

"Because the vision I had… It was in a cave," Zero replied.

And then, before either of them could do anything, a particularly painful vision struck Zero, and he collapsed against the tree, sliding down the front of it until he finally sat there, splayed slightly on the ground, his hands shaking with the effort to restrain his agony. His mind was broken down as Kaname knelt down next to him and placed two fingers to his left temple. Zero started to cough and forced himself to stay still as his body shook and hit the tree several times.

"Zero," Kaname said. "Can you hear me?"

_They were in a dark cave—or tunnel—with flickering lamp lights at the ceiling. This was not a mine, but a cave created by the vampires who used to inhabit the place. Someone—Kaname—stepped forward into the blinking light and said back to the shadow, "I believe it is safe."_

"_Kaname?" It was Zero's voice. _

"_Yes?"_

"_I…"_

"_What?" Kaname looked only slightly annoyed, but more concerned than worried._

_Zero stepped forward into the light, his shirt torn, and the skin beneath laced with bruises and cuts, and a particularly large gash on the left of his abdomen. His jaw had one bruise, and a thin, faded trail of blood started at the corner of his mouth. He looked exhausted, but his lavender eyes were filled with silent determination as he took Kaname's hand and he pulled him back into the shadows. Then, a quiet voice spoke out, and it could not be identified as whose it was._

"_I love you."_

Zero choked and stopped coughing, staring in disbelief at Kaname, who now looked sufficiently worried for Zero's health. He removed his palm from his mouth and shook his head, trying to clear his head of the images. "No way," he said to himself, almost in awe. "How the hell is that even possible?"

"What, Zero?" asked Kaname, unsettled by Zero's staring. "What's wrong?"

"How do I—never mind. Never mind," said Zero, wiping his forehead of sweat that had beaded there. "Just forget it." He coughed once more and attempted to stand. "Let's just keep moving."

"No, we'll go into the town."

"_What?"_

Kaname wasn't as much concerned as he was now irritated by Zero's uncomprehending expression. "We will go into the town, you will get rest, and we will set out at night." He pulled Zero up to his feet. "What was your vision about?"

Zero looked to the ground, biting his lip. "It was nothing of importance."

"Zero." Kaname's voice was a no-nonsense voice that reminded him a lot of Yagari when he was sober. "Tell me; otherwise, I will force it out of you."

"And how would you do that?"

Zero's secret challenge—his competitive tone and gaze—did not go unnoticed, and Kaname's eyes flashed darker with a grin.

"I'll drink your blood."

"Asshole," Zero growled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not going to tell you, even if you threaten to drink my blood."

Kaname laughed at him. "You will be telling me if I drink your blood, because your memories will come from your blood system to mine. Now tell me, _Kiryu_, before I sink my fangs into your neck; what was your vision about?"

Zero grumbled, glaring at the grass and wishing that it would just burn or wilt away under the intensity of his gaze. "We're going to the cave. I had a vision about the cave and ended up seeing the two of us inside the cave, looking for Rido." _Believe that's it,_ Zero thought. _Believe that's all there is, believe that's it, believe that's it, believe that's it…_

"And you thought there was nothing of importance in that?" asked Kaname, looking at him sternly.

Zero rolled his eyes. "Well, I already told you we were going to the cave."

"So that means you're withholding something from me," Kaname mused, sitting back on his heels and contemplating Zero's expression as he gazed at him. Zero looked at him as if annoyed and shocked at the same time. "Why must you hide things from me, Zero? This could be the difference in life or death for us."

"There's nothing left to say," Zero replied, standing. "I'm going into the town now; you can just wait in the woods, if you're planning to mull over what I'm hiding from you. I'm not hiding _anything_."

_Believe it, believe it, believe it…_

Kaname sighed and rose to his feet as well. "Very well. Since you are not well, I will not press matters."

"No matters to press." Zero glowered at him.

Kaname only gave him a knowing look and led him towards the town.

~~o~~

When Kaname and Zero checked into a tavern, they honestly did not expect to find that it was the only one in town, and there was only room available. And guess what? There was only one bed in that one room, only one pillow in that one room, only one blanket in that one room, only one table in that one room, and _no_ chair. Zero would have much rather continued trekking out in the wild until the next day, but Kaname didn't seem to look forward to meeting daylight face-to-face. Note: they didn't know beforehand, and the tavern owner didn't really seem to care about telling them either.

With a sigh, Zero unlocked the door to their room and tossed his jacket onto the only table.

Then, he turned to survey the room, and his expression turned to disbelief as he stood in front of the door, successfully blocking the view from Kaname who stood behind him.

"What. The. Hell" were the only three words he could muster to express his incredulity.

"What is it?" Kaname asked, and when Zero did not reply, but continued to stand there, he felt a growing irritation and impatience and snapped, "Zero. Move aside."

"I'm going to complain to the owner," Zero answered, and strode away from the door, down the window-lighted hallway and faded green carpet, his face murderous.

Once Kaname turned to look at the room, he could understand why Zero suddenly froze. There was only one bed, and it was small enough to fit only one person—two, if they pressed up close together. Kaname had experience with these types of beds; once, he shared a small one with Yuki, and it was the biggest mistake of his life. She thrashed and turned in her sleep and kicked him off of the bed, making him stay far away from small beds forever. There was only one pillow too, and only one blanket, which meant sharing unless one of them opted to stay awake. But at least there was a table. But it was just one table too.

"Zero!" Kaname called down the hallway. "There's no point! The man said this was the only room!"

Not but a second after, Zero's shout replied to his statement. "Like hell! I know there's more than one room available; I was just humoring him, but if he wants to play it this way, he should be prepared to lose!"

Exasperated, Kaname stepped into the room and placed his bag onto the table, removing his glasses from the bag and placing them on the bridge of his nose. Then, he pulled a map from the bag as well and sat down on the edge of the bed, setting it over his lap and examining it.

A moment later, Zero came back, positively fuming with his eyes burning in annoyance. Kaname noted that there was no blood on his hands, so Zero must have lost 'the game.'

"What did the man say?" Kaname asked calmly.

"He's a fucking bastard."

Amused, Kaname crossed his arms over his chest. "He said that?"

"No, but he knows he is," Zero replied stiffly, seating himself on the desk. "Not even a _chair_. Just a table."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled, attempting to calm himself down, with visible effort as he ran a hand through his messy silver hair.

"We'll just have to make do with it," Zero finally said. "Maybe, tomorrow, we could leave so early that I could just sneak up to the front desk and punch him in the face." He carefully lifted the bag from the table and placed it on the bed, next to Kaname. "You can sleep on the bed; I'll just sleep on the table."

Kaname gave him an 'are you serious' look and started to laugh again.

"What the hell is it now?" Zero asked petulantly. "Why are you laughing?"

"It's common for a Knight to sleep with the one he is protecting," Kaname responded, smirking.

"Well, news to you, Pureblood, but I'm not going to sleep with you." Zero looked at him pointedly, sitting with his legs crossed underneath him. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, watching Kaname intently, waiting for his next reply.

"I didn't mean that type of sleep, you nincompoop."

Zero glowered at him. "I didn't mean that type of sleep either, bastard. I'm not going to sleep with you or _sleep_ with you."

Kaname shrugged and looked back down at the map. "Fine with me, Kiryu." Faintly, Zero noted that the two of them used surnames with each other when they disagreed with each other, or teased each other. "If you prefer the table to a bed, have fun waking up with sore tonight." Kaname's eyes then lit up, and he looked delighted as he chuckled to himself, discovering his private little joke. "Either way, if you sleep with me or not, you'll be sore all over."

Appalled, Zero threw the nearest thing he could find at Kaname. "You dirty-minded bastard!" Under his breath, he muttered, "And I thought _I_ was the wicked one, Kuran…"

Without even blinking, Kaname sent it flying to the other side of the room. It had been an inkwell; now it shattered all over the paint-chipped beige wall and trickled black ink down the surface. Zero's gaze was fast; he saw that Kaname hadn't even raised a finger.

"Hmm." Zero tapped his chin with his own finger, musing over what he just saw. So Kaname was telekinetic. "If you can send it flying against a wall, can you send it flying back?"

As soon as he saw Kaname's mischievous face, he knew that he'd regret his words. Ink went splashing onto his shirt, and some of it flecked his cheek with black as well. With a set scowl, he took the hem of his shirt, lifted it, and wiped his face off, ignoring the fact that he had just bared his abdomen to Kaname. After all, the bastard had said some suggestive things; this wasn't nearly as bad as that.

"You didn't have to provide a hands-on demonstration," Zero muttered. "Does this room even have a washroom? Or a bathroom? Or a toilet?"

Kaname pointed to the door next to the table. "That may be it. But if it leads into the next room, I suggest you not check. Maybe you should listen at the door first." He still looked extremely entertained at the fact that he had splattered Zero with ink.

Zero noted that his hand was slick with black ink. Nonchalantly, he got off of the table, and as he walked past Kaname, he smeared Kaname's neck with ink as well, quickly leaping aside when Kaname flung the maps away, threw his glasses onto the bed, and tackled Zero, growling. His eyes glowed red, but with more of an excitement for games, like a boy who had just been told that someone would play a game of tag with him.

Of course, Zero was the one who ended up hitting the floor, right next to the door.

And as he got up, he knocked heads with Kaname, who had landed on him and tried to catch his balance.

"What the hell?" Zero asked, grimacing as he held his forehead.

Kaname grinned and grasped Zero's collar, pulling him up so they were nose-to-nose. He sat on Zero's torso and used his other hand to point at his neck. "If you didn't notice, _Kiryu_, you marked my neck with ink."

Zero coughed, and the cough suspiciously sounded like 'bastard.' "If _you_ didn't notice, Kuran, my entire _shirt_ is marked with ink because you splattered it all over me!"

Kaname feigned an innocent look. "Did you see me throw any ink at you, Zero?"

"With your eyes," Zero replied. "I simply repaid your efforts."

Then, they found out exactly what the door next to the table was for. An annoyed woman stepped out, and Kaname and Zero both realized it was a door adjoining the two rooms together. She glared at the both of them.

"You two are so fucking loud!" she exclaimed, brushing back her fiery hair with a hand and snaring the curls with her fingers. "Tone it down—"

She stopped short when her mind registered the two of them in their…position.

"Damn, it's always the good-looking ones," she muttered, and turned back to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Zero gave Kaname a confused look, but Kaname, understanding, got off of Zero with slight embarrassment.

"What the hell was with that lady?" Zero asked, rising up from the floor and leaning against the table.

Kaname shook his head. "It's nothing." He pretended to yawn and grimaced when he felt the uncomfortable ink on his neck again. "I'm going to sleep right after I wash this ink off of my neck." He glared at Zero. "Now you know it's not a bathroom."

Zero laughed. "Yeah, _now_ I know."


	5. 4: Seeing

The Vampire Knight

**Rating: T **(coarse language, profanity, ideas generally unsuitable for those not open-minded enough to accept them)

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Plot Summary: **_Zero retired from being a Vampire Knight because of his agonizing, headache-causing visions. And now, he's being blackmailed into guarding the heir of the Kuran family, Kuran Kaname._

Thanks to all who are reading, reviewed, alerted, and favorited. Sorry for being really late with this chapter. I did rewrite it, to my credit, and completely lost the file afterwards. So damn me. The pairing, to be clarified, is Zero/Kaname and Kaname/Zero. I don't actually write smut—though I'll probably imply it later on, if my mind decides to cooperate (fuck you, brain)—so the use of Zero or Kaname first isn't really relevant in this story.

And I know I was really late, and this chapter length is really a mood-killer, since it's barely past two thousand, but I've got to adjust to my new work schedule. So...have fun reading what little of the plot I've put in there...

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight.

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><p>~~o~~<p>

"_If you are going through hell, keep going."_ –Winston Churchill

~~o~~

* * *

><p>Screwed, surprised, shocked, or scared were pretty necessary if one wished to describe Zero's outward and inward expression. He stared widely in front of him at Kaname. However the hell he made it to the bed remained a mystery, but he was quite sure that someone carried him, because he did not suddenly acquire the disturbing tendency to drift to Kaname's side on a bed only fit to hold one of them spread-eagled and snoring. Not that Kaname or Zero snored or anything, but still. Also, he couldn't simply get off of the bed without waking Kaname.<p>

From experience, he knew that waking up Purebloods was a bad mistake. First, because Shirabuki Sara was scary as hell when she didn't get her beauty sleep, and second, he nearly ended up castrated by a teaspoon. He was scared as hell again.

And the reason why he couldn't move was because Kaname was tenaciously hugging him like a teddy bear. And he was asleep.

Awkwardly, Zero lied there, feeling horribly embarrassed. Coupled with everything happening, from the love-confession-like-speech to his damn vision, he was quite sure that if he stayed in this bed any longer, he was going to die of humiliation or simply act on instinct and hug Kaname back. And God knew that he couldn't do that; then he'd make Kaname triumphant and smug all day because of that stupid 'even if you don't sleep with me you'll be sore' shit.

"Kaname!" Zero hissed, shaking Zero's shoulder. "Kaname, wake up!"

Kaname's eyes fluttered open slightly, and he grumbled something unintelligible before shutting them again and hugging Zero tighter.

Exasperated, Zero repeated, _"Kaname!"_

Once again, Kaname's eyes opened, but this time, he glared at Zero and leaned over him, trapping Zero under him. That completely ruined the purpose of him waking up Kaname, and Zero glared back instead of cowering under that gaze. Kaname's hands locked onto Zero's wrists and pressed them into the soft bed, and Kaname loomed over Zero completely, his eyes dangerously dark. Zero wanted to gulp; he had woken up a Pureblood, just like his mind counseled him _not_ to.

"Zero."

Great. Just great.

"Why did you wake me up?"

Zero cleared his throat. "Because I wanted to get off of the bed," he replied. "Would you mind getting off me, so my waking you up hasn't defeating the purpose of my attempting to get out from under you?" Then, as an afterthought, he added, very politely, "Please?"

Kaname sighed. "I was having a wonderful dream, Kiryu."

_That makes one of us,_ Zero thought sardonically. "Sorry to wake you up from that dream, Kuran."

Rolling his eyes, Kaname reluctantly released Zero's wrists and leaned back into the bed, allowing Zero to get out from under him. Sighing, he closed his garnet-colored eyes and started to pull the covers over himself once more when Zero tore them off of the bed and held his arms akimbo, glaring at Kaname. His glare was pretty formidable too, now that Kaname had been subjected to it. They stared at each other challengingly, and Kaname was quite sure it would end up in a stalemate. He had never met anyone who could compete with his gaze.

"Fine," Kaname finally said, showing no fear—it was inexistent anyway—to Zero. "I'll get up." He sighed and stood from the bed, straightening his white collared, button-down shirt. "You are so forceful, you know? It makes me only slightly apprehensive of you." Good thing Zero was his Knight. Believe it or not, he was sort of starting to feel sorry for his uncle if he would have to face Zero in a glare-down eye-fight.

At least Zero wasn't cocking his gun at Kaname—no, he was. Oh holy shitting fuck.

"Oh, goodness." He rolled his eyes. "Put the gun down, Zero. There's no need to shoot me."

It wasn't even Bloody Rose; Kaname might have been able to harness Bloody Rose, but with this regular old .22, he was quite sure that it would feel pretty unpleasant if he got a few holes in the chest, shoulder, stomach, or leg. Grimacing, he held his hands up carefully, in a gesture of truce, and tried to smile, tried to reason with Zero. There wasn't any need for violence…hopefully. He inched towards Zero carefully and cautiously, reaching out carefully to the silver-headed Knight.

"Zero," he said firmly. "Put the gun down."

Zero sighed and placed the gun back on the one table they had. "So you're fully awake?"

Kaname rolled his eyes again. "Are you serious? You threatened to kill me just because you wanted me awake?"

Not amused, Zero crossed his arms over his chest. "Just get dressed or do whatever it is that you need to do so we can get moving." He gestured out to the window. "It's nighttime."

Smirking, Kaname said, "What, so no good night kiss? You did end up in the bed with me."

"Sometimes, I wish that you weren't so high and mighty; then I'd be able to kill you," replied Zero, and started to gather the maps into the bag.

"You wouldn't want to kill me," Kaname said softly. "Even if I weren't so high and mighty."

Zero didn't look at him, but his sharp retort came back pretty quickly. "My willingness to point a gun at you says different. Even if you are high and mighty."

"Ah, so you're being contradictory now."

"I am not! Just get dressed!" It was a stand-down. Zero crossed his arms over his chest and engaged Kaname into a glaring contest. But his glare broke off as soon as Kaname began to unbutton his shirt. Zero choked, dropping his arms, and covered his eyes quickly. "What the fuck are you doing?" he snarled.

"Getting dressed," Kaname answered innocuously, and Zero could just _feel_ the evil smirk on his face. "Obviously I would have to take my clothes off _first_."

"You bastard," Zero mumbled, moving around the table with his eyes closed. He placed his hands cautiously in front of him just in case he bumped into a wall. "One day, that'll backfire on you, and I'll be the one on top, laughing like the fucking maniac."

"You imagine yourself on top?"

Zero missed the sultry, teasing tone in Kaname's voice. "Hell yeah. Have you seen how many E's I've killed?"

There was silence. Kaname didn't respond. Zero ignored it and tried to move towards the nightstand to get the compass. Even if Kaname insisted that he had an internal sense of direction, Zero could never be too sure. Seriously, for all Zero knew, Kaname was going to lead them right into the mouth of a fire-breathing hellhound.

"Zero."

"Yes?"

Kaname waited a little until responding. "Open your eyes."

The Knight was fairly sure that he was already past Kaname—since he hadn't hit anything particularly soft or hard—so he opened his eyes warily. That proved to be a mistake. With a surprised yell, he tripped over something, and maybe it was Kaname's foot, damn him, and landed on the bed. Zero hissed in surprise, his hand for going the holster that was supposed at his waist.

It wasn't.

Shocked, Zero could only look, narrow-eyed, at Kaname, willing him to burn in hell for as long as it was possible. "Get off of me, Kuran."

Kaname smiled wickedly; there was a predatory gleam in his eyes. He wasn't going to get off, and Zero knew it. Zero also knew that he wasn't allowed to willingly harm Kaname either—in other words, push him off, punch him, shoot him (although he could threaten to), knee him in the gut, etc.—since it was against the idiot laws of the Vampire Knight code, or whatever the fuck they wanted to make the damn book sound cool. Shit shit shit.

"Zero," Kaname repeated softly. "Do you really think you would be on top?"

"Fuck you," he replied. "Yes, I do think I would really be on top." His eyes were filled with irritation. "_But I didn't mean on top as in screwing around in bed, bastard!"_

Laughter.

Laughter escaped from Kaname's lips, and he leaned back, sitting on Zero's torso, forcing the air out of Zero's lungs. An '_oof_' came from Zero, and he wriggled from underneath Kaname, now extremely pissed off. Only Kuran Kaname could piss him off to this level. Besides Yagari.

Kaname tsked. "Be honest with yourself, Zero… There's tension all around in the air, and you can feel it." Zero's eyes darted back and forth, trying to escape this predicament without violating those shit laws. But he couldn't deny that he felt the tension. "It's not because of a race against time," Kaname added, a wry smile on his face. "It's sexual."

"You bastard," Zero reiterated firmly. "You're purely imagining the 'sexual' part in the tension. We have no sexual tension, and if it was, it was probably between you and the red-haired woman from yesterday. And who the hell's fault was it when you were practically hugging me in bed when I woke up this morning?"

Grinning devilishly, Kaname pointed a long, elegant finger at Zero. He leaned down, whispering in Zero's ear, "It was your fault, of course. Late in the afternoon, I awoke to find you sleeping right next to me."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "You must have been dreaming." But in his mind, he thought, _That explains why I woke up in the bed… I sleepwalked. Fuck. _"And get off of me," he added.

"Oh all right," Kaname sighed, getting off of the bed. "It's time to go anyway…"

"You're a real sick fuck, you know that?" Zero said loudly. "Sadistic."

"Masochistic," Kaname shot back, as Zero grabbed the compass from the nightstand. "You'd enjoy people's pain a little more if you saw what I saw." A faraway look placed itself into Kaname's garnet-colored eyes.

But Zero smiled dryly. "Oh, you wouldn't if you _see what I've seen_."

Kaname tilted his head to the side, and long, thin strands of dark brown hair fell over his eyes. Curiosity flooded his senses as he remembered Zero's earlier episode in the day when he had collapsed against the tree. Zero had looked like the world was ending, and Kaname still didn't know what it had been about. "And what have you seen, Kiryu? How far have you seen?" he asked, almost coaxingly.

Zero didn't answer for a moment, sitting on the edge of the desk. He tossed the compass to Kaname and looked down at the dusty wooden floor. But before he could answer, the red-haired woman burst in again, this time holding a knife. Her eyes flashed red, and Zero dived for his gun in alarm as Kaname narrowed his eyes, throwing her against the wall without lifting a finger.

"Holy shit!" Zero exclaimed. He saw the dried blood around a mark on her neck, and the fresh blood dripping down the corners of her mouth. "She's been… She was bitten by…"

"Rido was here," Kaname replied blandly. "I guess I'll have to get my answer later."

The woman aimed for them again, but Zero shot her with the Bloody Rose, hitting her right in the chest. The adrenaline still pumped through their veins, even though the E exploded into dust. Zero felt like laughing. Everything was so fucked, and he still felt like laughing. He should have felt horrible. This woman was the woman that yelled at them this morning. This woman…died.

"Don't feel pity for things that are already dead," Kaname said, his expression mildly irate. "They are already dead. Worry about yourself before you join them."

Zero looked surprised. He suddenly recalled what he had said to Yagari.

"_Don't pity the dead, Yagari; pity the living."_

But instead, Zero replied, "I won't join them."

"Right, Knights live forever."

Zero sat down again, this time on the bed. Kaname sat down next to him, sighing.

"How far do you see, Zero?" he repeated.

The Knight turned to the Pureblood. It could have made an excellent drama, if Zero cared to watch it. But he held Kaname's gaze firmly and his lips quirked upward in a self-deprecating smile.

"I see the end."


	6. 5: Taint

The Vampire Knight

**Rating: T **(coarse language, profanity, ideas generally unsuitable for those not open-minded enough to accept them)

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Plot Summary: **_Zero retired from being a Vampire Knight because of his agonizing, headache-causing visions. And now, he's being blackmailed into guarding the heir of the Kuran family, Kuran Kaname._

Thanks to all who are reading, reviewed, alerted, and favorited.

**A/N Title: I'm a fucker.**

But the guilt of not updating for two months aside, I feel extremely fucking awesome right now! I just updated two of my—only *cough*—major stories with respectable chapters. At least, I **think** they're respectable chapters. I hope they are. I'm so sorry that I had to put The Vampire Knight on hiatus, but this one little chapter spoke to the deep wells of my heart. I hope there's more KanamexZero action in this.  
>And to the response of when the 'scene' is going to come…to be honest, when I decided to write this story, I wasn't sure if I wanted to write lemon with it, because then it would be my first time, and well…my finger-ginity is at stake here, though I'd be willing to <em>hint at it. <em>Like, totally cut you guys off right when things get heated…but then people would hate the shit out of me. :P So I hope you like the actual fifth chapter! (excluding the prologue)

Sorry for any typos in advance!  
>And I have no idea if <span>The Vampire Knight<span> will be off hiatus yet. It's still on, for all I know, since a new school year's starting which makes me feel all the more like shit. T_T WHY SCHOOL WHY

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight.

* * *

><p>~o~<p>

"_To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else."_ - Emily Dickinson

~o~

* * *

><p>They were lost.<p>

It wasn't that hard to believe, since Zero knew that Kaname's sense of direction was, in fact, severely warped, but the situation was just a little hard to comprehend for Zero because _he_, at least, should have kept them on the right track. They lost the map a while back, with an incident where Kaname tried to cross a river, and Zero followed after him—and then a rogue E appeared, and the bag fell into the water...followed promptly by Kaname and Zero. Zero still couldn't get the scene out of his mind, of the map floating down the river, the paper becoming soggy and then _dissolving at the creases_, coming apart _right in the __**river**__._

Thinking about it made him pissed. If Kaname had crossed **sooner** instead of contemplating for a full five minutes… He shook his head, stared at the two paths in front of them, pivoted on his heel to survey the path that they had just took, and then turned back to look at Kaname. Unfortunately, Kaname was contemplating the right path, staring at it with a dark intensity.

_Oh no._

"Kuran," Zero said impatiently, tugging the sleeve of his shirt. "Even if you have some sort of partiality for paths with menacing appearances, I stand firmly by the decision to go _this way_." He gestured to the nicer looking path with green grass, an open sky above, enveloped in living, breathing trees, _the path that looked safe_, and attempted to give Kaname what he hoped was a convincing, winning—and charming, because _what the hey_, when did a little bit of charisma hurt?—smile. "Besides, all of the…thorns," he continued, looking at the other road with a scowl, "could possibly prick your blood, and you never know if there's some sort of bloodthirsty animal out there."

Kaname rolled his eyes, but said nothing, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Are you really going to make me beg you not to take the dangerous road?"

"My way or the highway," Kaname replied.

Zero groaned. "Your way is the _wrong _way, goddammit! It doesn't look _anything_ like the _right_ road would look like!"

To his surprise and annoyance, Kaname chuckled and tugged Zero along the unpleasant path. "And what is your ideal 'right' road?"

Zero was busy trying to tug his hand from Kaname's. "No, no, no, damn it!"

Kaname grinned. "You're my Knight, Zero. You have to do what I say."

"You manipulative bastard! And technically, I'm not your Knight."

The pureblood raised an eyebrow. "If you hadn't have been so stubborn to refuse my blood, that ordeal would have been over with. It's much more dangerous to allow you to be unbound to a pureblood, you know. People will be willing to kill rogue Knights just as they kill rogue vampires. Especially since your…" He cleared his throat, pondering how to put this in the most innocuous possible. "Since your little…escapade with the Association. They weren't happy with you after that."

"The Association can stick another rod up their ass to join the first one," Zero retorted. "Meanwhile, with the more important matter at hand, I still think we're going the wrong way."

"Ask to borrow a rod from the Association, Zero," Kaname said to him calmly, with a playful smile. "We're taking this road."

At first, Zero didn't get it. He stared at Kaname blankly. _Ask to…borrow a rod? What? _He should have been the master of euphemisms. The master of retorts. Comebacks. Insults. But as comprehension dawned on him like the sun gracing the sky with its presence, his face twisted into a scowl. He tugged Kaname back, stopping them in the middle of the road. It wasn't too late to turn back, and if Zero could convince Kaname to not be a bull-headed, suicidal maniac… Maybe if he pointed the .22 at Kaname—oh wait. They lost that _too_.

He glowered at Kaname. "I'm not going to borrow _any_ fucking rod, Kuran." He irritably turned away, pulling Kaname back out of the thorny path with the abundance of dead, gnarled trees mixed in between living ones.

"Oh, so you have a preference?"

"No, bastard, I'm not going to borrow a rod at all!"

"The safer paths are sometimes the more dangerous ones," Kaname warned as they now continued under the glory of the sun.

"I'd like to see my enemies in plain daylight, thank you very much," Zero informed him, pulling Bloody Rose out of its holster at his hip. He would have had the other gun in his hand for enemies that weren't vampires, but thanks to _Kaname _and that damn _E_, it was probably serving as a place for fish to piss on_…_ "Unlike that other path, where there were shadows darker than the ones under your eyes…"

"Oh, very funny, Zero."

Zero shot him a grin. "And anyway, how are you going to defend yourself? If I get picked off by your enemies, I'm pretty sure there will be no one else to protect you."

He glanced over Kaname, stepped in front of him, and started to walk backwards, keeping in pace with him as he scrutinized Kaname carefully. He sure didn't look very strong, though he was muscular somewhat. His shoulders were broad, filling out his shirt nicely, and his legs were long, strong like the haunches of a lion. His fingers, spindly and spidery, could have easily strangled someone's neck as they could have weaved with a loom. Honestly, Kaname didn't look athletic, though he could run like hell when he wanted.

Kaname smirked, placed his fingers on the gun, lacing them over Zero's, and pulled the trigger.

Zero jumped. "What the _fuck_?"

To Zero's relief, Kaname had shot into the air.

He smiled devilishly at the Knight. "Why, there is always a place to find a weapon. Use your enemy's weapons against them."

"If the enemy has no weapons…?"

"Strengths, then. Their entire arsenal."

Zero shook his head. "I think you're going to get yourself killed one day. I hope you know that."

"Well, everybody's got to die at some point."

"You sound so laidback about your own death."

"What, are you going to deliver it to me?"

Zero huffed and turned away. "No. I swore to protect you."

"Technically, those vows are null and v—"

"Don't say vows," Zero interjected, finally walking forward like a normal person, side-by-side with Kaname. His face was twisted into an embarrassed scowl as he stared at the road in front of him. "It sounds like we're married or something."

He should have known this was the wrong thing to say, because then, Kaname smiled wickedly, leaned close to Zero, and blew into his ear. Zero jumped away, extremely creeped out, and swatted at Kaname.

"What the fuck are you _doing?"_

"Don't you want to be married to me?"

"—Like hell!"

~o~

They had stopped by a small creek, under the speckled canopy of tall trees. Zero leaned against the comfortable bed of a tree trunk after he splashed his face with water. Then he looked across the creek, trying to locate Kaname. They had split up a while ago—Kaname said something about 'inspecting the source of the water', and Zero had merely shrugged and drank the water anyway. There were fish swimming in it. And if it was poisonous, well, Zero had encountered all sorts of poisons out in the wilderness—he would have developed antibodies to it and gained immunity. He didn't worry too much about being poisoned, but it was understandable that Kaname would…

The pureblood still wasn't back, even after Zero counted to a thousand in his head. With annoyance, he got up from his comfy resting place and tried to trace Kaname's scent. He pressed his nose to the grass for one minute and looked up.

The scent was fading, decreasing as the feel of humidity increased. Rapidly.

_Shit._

It was going to rain soon, and if Zero couldn't find Kaname before then…

Hurriedly, he tried to follow the scent, trying to desperately recall what Kaname smelled like.

_Cinnamon._

Oh god, why was he thinking about that? He started to run, jumping over fallen branches and trees, following the stream. His stomach felt tormented as he took in the sight of trees thinning out right at the stream. Suddenly, there were fallen trees all over, damming up a great _river, _seven hundred meters from where he had rested. And on either side of the river, there were dead trees, dead animals, and dead _plants_. Grass was unhealthy grey and brown. Zero swallowed.

He drank the water that _went through that place._

Zero felt panicky. There were so many things _wrong_. Kaname was missing, he had just poisoned himself stupidly, _and_ he was in a wood of dead things. There was no telling where Kaname went.

"Shit."

He knelt down and placed his head between his knees. His breath came in short gasps. His gut felt like it had been run over by a fucking _horse_, and then a fifty ton truck decided to skid all over it. He raised his head with a groan, closing his eyes. Goddammit, this was… this was… _horrible. _Fucking _horrible. _He stared up at the smiling sky and scowled, half in annoyance, half in pain. At this rate, if he didn't find Kaname, he was probably going to die, or Kaname was probably going to die—or both of them were most likely on the road to hell. If only he had gone with Kaname…

And to make it worse, the smell of cinnamon was sharp and sickening…

_Cinnamon?_

Zero quickly got up, almost falling over again—black dots swayed before his eyes, obscuring his vision for a single second—and ran.

He stopped as the trees started to mend their barricade again. He stopped before a particularly thick tree and placed his hand against it, gasping. His head was swimming, and if he didn't sit down, he was going to **fall** down.

Where the fuck was Kaname anyway?

"Kaname!" he yelled tiredly, his voice hoarse. "Goddammit, where are you?" He didn't get a response, though he should have expected it. His lungs were tired and traitorous—they locked as soon as he tried to inhale deeply and ached with a burning fire as he tried to exhale shallowly. No surprise that his voice was weak and barely made it past a hearing distance of twenty yards.

He forced himself to keep walking. Even if he was weak, his pride would be severely compromised if Kaname found him instead, weak, stumbling, and gasping for breath. He had to have walked at least five hundred meters until he came into another clearing with trees and plants and a cascading waterfall.

And there the bastard was, sitting calmly by the riverbank, staring at the towering promontory and the water that spilled over it. He looked to his left at the sound of Zero's footsteps.

Zero gritted his teeth. "You. _bastard."_

"You know that you drank the taint of the dead, right?" Kaname asked, smiling.

"Oh fuck you," he replied, clenching Bloody Rose's pistol grip with a death grasp, and collapsed.

~o~

He was delirious. He must have been. Because as soon as he realized what he was doing—as soon as he came to a state of awareness even though he was already conscious—he clamped his hands over his mouth, staring wide-eyed at Kaname. Slowly, he removed his mouth, flexed his fingers, and said slowly, "Did I really just tell you about that time I stuffed gunpowder into a tortoise shell?"

Kaname smiled darkly, stowing this away for blackmail. "You told me how you were sorry you killed the tortoise too."

Zero was never going to live this down. "Well, anyway… I don't know how the hell we got on the topic of my adventures as a child, but… why the fuck did you stay here? If I had died from the poisoning, what would you have done? There wouldn't have been a Vampire Knight to protect you then, Kuran. In fact—" He was cut off by a sigh.

The pureblood waved his hand irritably. "Don't call me 'Kuran', Zero. We've already slept together—"

"—in the same bed, nothing more!" Zero interrupted.

"—in the same bed," Kaname conceded, but then continued as if Zero hadn't even voiced his protest, "and we've been in more compromising situations that I would actually care to count. But even so, you won't desist to address me with that cold, formal name."

"Don't tell me you're actually _bothered by this?"_

Kaname looked at him seriously. "I am."

There wasn't a hint of humor in his voice. He had to be kidding.

Zero stared him down. "…Are you serious?"

"One hundred percent."

"Well, okay, _Kaname_, if you insist. I just find it odd that we're…addressing each other so casually. Since when were we on a first-name basis? We've barely even known each other for a month, but we talk to each other like it's been years."

"You're my Knight. Get used to it."

"I'm _not_ your Knight."

"Yet."

Zero sighed. "Yet," he allowed grudgingly, grumbling. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question. Did something captivate you to the point of immobility? You stayed here for over fifteen minutes."

"Were you worried?"

"No. Well, yes. But that's beside the point. What kept you here?"

"Didn't you see, Zero? The middle of the river is filled with taint. Contagion. I came here to find out why. What is killing the plants?"

"Do we really have time for that? Nine days. Nine days to find and kill Rido."

"I know," Kaname replied, sighing. He glanced over Zero again. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Zero waved him off. "Sure. I'm fine." He looked up at the sky. _Vision, vision, any time now, come on… _He closed his eyes. "I wish I had them at will…"

"Had what at will?"

"These little visions of mine." Zero smiled faintly. "My mind tingles. It's either the water I drank or it's a vision, waiting to give me a pain in the skull. I sure wish it's a vision—I might as well get it over with."

"You know, Zero… If you drank my blood—"

"Oh goodness, not again." They had already discussed this topic after Zero regained consciousness. After collapsing. Like a girl. In front of Kaname. "I _told_ you; I refuse to drink your blood. I don't like the idea of it at all."

"The poison will be gone."

"I told you, Kaname, I'm _fine_. My body will recover, and I'll be immune to that particular poison from then on forth."

Kaname looked at him austerely. "It's my uncle's poison."

…

"Whoa whoa whoa, back the fuck up. Your _uncle's_ poison? How the hell does he get around so quickly?"

Ignoring Zero's outburst, he tilted his head to the side, pulling back thin strands of dark brown hair and baring his neck. "Drink. Or else you'll die."

Zero crossed his arms over his chest and turned away, scowling. "I refuse."

"Stop being a stubborn mule."

"Stop prostituting your neck!"

Kaname held his gaze with a firm, smoldering conviction. "Zero, if you don't, you _will_ die."

As soon as that sentence was out for the world to hear, Zero sighed, leaned back against the enveloping trunk of a tree, and let out a shaky breath. He threw his arm over his eyes and turned his head towards Kaname. "You know, Kaname… Other vampires would _kill_ to drink your blood. Other vampires who will kill _me _for even daring to _suggest_ drinking your blood. It's only worse if you offer it to me willingly. I'm not supposed to drink your blood more than once."

"You haven't even drunk it once."

"Well, if I do it once, that 'one time' would become two, and two will become three—and who knows. Three could become forever. And they'll probably think I put you under some voodoo spell." Zero laughed at his own little wisecrack. "I mean, I already have visions, why not add some salt to the wou—"

And just fucking then, a vision came.

Zero couldn't see anything but darkness now.

_The only thing visible was a foot, sticking out limply in the framed moonlight._

"_Drink my blood," a voice rasped. "Drink it…"_

"_**Aghh…**__no… Let go…of me, d-damn you—__**ah!**__"_

_The sound of cracking, and then a bloodcurdling shriek._

The next thing Zero felt was Kaname shaking him, one hand on his shoulder, one hand strangling him with his own collar.

"Zero!"

And then hitting him.

"Ow! What the fuck!" Zero exclaimed, catching Kaname's wrist in one hand and cupping his jaw with the other. "You don't hit a sickperson!"

"My apologies," Kaname said wryly. "Next time you start screaming, I'll try my best to disregard it. I don't suppose you'll want to tell me what it was, so I'll refrain from asking as well."

Zero leaned back, feeling the tree trunk through his thin, worn clothing. He sighed.

Then it hit him that they were in another compromising position. Kaname sat on his torso, gripping the collar of his shirt as he stared down at him wordlessly. Zero stared back up at him, defiantly, feeling his neck heat with embarrassment.

"Get off, please."

Kaname looked down. Then he looked back up at Zero with a smirk. "No."

Zero slumped back even further, if that was possible. "Fine. I'm tired anyway. I'll just sleep the poison off and get better later." He tried to make himself comfortable in the space he was actually allowed. He couldn't extend his elbows further, since they were blocked by Kaname's legs. He squirmed for a while.

And then he gave up, linking his fingers behind his head and staring up at Kaname.

"I'm going to sleep with my eyes open," he informed Kaname.

Kaname shrugged. "Go ahead."

Zero stared past Kaname's head, thinking faintly that the weight against his torso didn't feel too bad. At least, when Kaname didn't move every other second. But as he continued to stare with his eyes wide open, unblinkingly, at the clouds, his mind went back to the vision. He suppressed a shudder and glanced sparingly at Kaname.

Just how far would that pureblood go to bind his Knight to him?


	7. 6: Initiation

The Vampire Knight

**Rating: T **(coarse language, profanity, ideas generally unsuitable for those not open-minded enough to accept them)

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Plot Summary: **_Zero retired from being a Vampire Knight because of his agonizing, headache-causing visions. And now, he's being blackmailed into guarding the heir of the Kuran family, Kuran Kaname._

Thanks to all who are reading, reviewed, alerted, and favorited.

Congratulations! The Vampire Knight is no longer on hiatus! But be warned of totally late updates. I'm very sorry. School's years started, but I can't just abandon this story. D:

Early update. Merry Christmas. :) It's only two thousand words, but I think that there's enough action in here to make you guys laugh somewhat.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight.

* * *

><p>~~o~~<p>

"_In a real dark night of the soul, it is always three o'clock in the morning, day after day." –__F. Scott Fitzgerald _

~~o~~

* * *

><p>"I think there's a reason why you can't walk for more than a mile before sitting down, Zero," Kaname informed him as he pressed a cool cloth, courtesy of the abundance of rain, to Zero's forehead. "And I believe it is also your bullheadedness."<p>

Zero mumbled an incoherent reply, groaned, and rolled over on his side, swatting at Kaname's hand and then ignoring him all together. Man, he felt like shit. Total shit. What was in Rido's poison anyway? The mass of an entire elephant? Because that's what Zero's chest felt like it was being restricted by. He groaned again, wrested the cloth from Kaname's finger, and pressed it against his forehead. Yes, he felt like so much shit that it was completely unbelievable. In all those years of surviving by himself in the wilderness, he made it just fine, without poisoning—never coming down with a fever unless he had caught some sort of disease from the blood of the animals…but then he recovered.

And faintly, he remembered one time that he was put through the exact same situation—drinking from a stream of poison, the source of it a giant factory, flooding out waste by the gallons. Zero had been pretty pissed. The factory _did_ shut down…but definitely not because of Zero. No. Definitely not.

He thought about those times while Kaname silently sat next to him.

All those times, he had been alone, without anyone to take care of him. And though Kaname was doing a pretty shitty job at being a nurse, Zero supposed he was better than nothing.

So he turned over on his side, yawning, and tapped Kaname's arm.

"Yes?" Kaname asked, looking down at him with a confused expression.

"I know that it's raining, but to be honest, I feel too much like shit to do anything about it…so if you don't mind…" He curled up into a little ball, his head resting only centimeters from Kaname's hand, and pulled the damp cloth over his eyes.

They sat under a little enclosing of trees, somehow keeping themselves somewhat dry. Their shoes were soaked, their clothes had specks of rain, and their hair was somewhat salvaged, but everything was all right. For Kaname, anyway. Zero felt like the shit left behind by a smug dog. And because he felt like that, that must have been a perfectly valid reason for him to start taking off his shoes and socks to dry as he placed them up on a large tree root.

"What are you doing, Zero?" Kaname's voice floated over to him tiredly.

"We won't be walking for a while, Kaname," he mumbled in response just as tiredly. "The rain is rather heavy, and I don't fancy taking a stroll with my eyes drowning in water."

"And you were the one who said we had nine days to find and kill _him_," Kaname pointed out.

Zero swatted blindly at him. "Shut it. That was before I realized that the poison was this bad."

The poison had to have spread throughout his body now. His lungs were in tatters, his heartbeat like a kid who couldn't carry a tune, and his entire body ached crazily. His legs were sore even after a mile—when he could have run for two with no sweat—and his fingers hurt from gripping Bloody Rose too tightly (_ironically, to alleviate the pain_), his wrist also hurting from the strain his fingers were exerting. He expected to have recovered, but it was raining, it was _evening_, and the sky was getting **dark.**

Zero shifted his head slightly, his neck sore too.

Kaname watched him mutely, feeling Zero's smooth silver hair glide over his fingers. It was soft, and he wanted to touch it for himself…but then Zero would definitely shoot him. There wouldn't be any qualm about the 'laws' that Zero had to uphold—he would have been too far gone in the poisonous haze. The stubborn vampire! If only he would drink Kaname's blood, everything would be much easier. Instead, Zero had to _insist_ on staying like this, stating he would recover easily and they could get going in no time.

Well, they certainly weren't _going_ right now.

_Why can't you rely on me?_ Kaname thought, frustrated, looking down at Zero with a miniscule frown. His fingers brushed over Zero's hair.

And then he tugged. Sharply. His eyes narrowed as he realized he couldn't hear Zero breathing. "Zero."

There wasn't a response.

"Zero!" Kaname dragged him up by the collar and started to shake him. "_Zero_!"

The rain pounded in his ears, to the point where he couldn't even tell if that harsh breathing was his. And then, he detected a faint murmuring and leaned closer to Zero's mouth, brow furrowed, mouth thinned.

"Kaname…you…bastard… M'm…sleeping…" Zero muttered, his voice slurred.

Kaname let go of Zero's collar with a surprised face, and Zero dropped back to the floor with a pained groan.

"You…_fucker_…"

But Kaname ignored him and stared down at his own fingers, wondering why he had overreacted. If Zero had died, he should have just left him there. He had a mission to fulfill. And the Knight had been nothing short of _annoying_ from the day Kaname met him…

"Zero," Kaname said to him softly, right next to his ear.

"…Wha…?"

"Drink my blood."

Zero's eyes shot open, narrowing, even as flashes of pain traveled through his gaze. "…No."

The night blanketed the sky. Everything was dark. And though it stopped raining, everything was damp and silvery in the moonlight. Kaname's eyes, visibly narrowed and undistinguishable from red and garnet, pierced Zero with absolute command. He grasped Zero's collar again, pulled him up by the neck despite the fact that Zero was aching _all over_, and pushed Zero's head into the crook of his neck.

"If you don't drink, I _will_ make you this time."

"…Don't…want…to…" Zero protested weakly, but his eyes flashed red. He was weakened, he hadn't drunk blood for more than a week, and Kaname's blood… _oh goodness, Kaname's __**blood**__._ He tried to inch away, uncurling and digging his foot into the damp grass as he tried to shift away. "…Let…go."

"Drink my blood. _Drink it._"

Zero growled, but it sounded more like an agonized groan more than anything. "…No… Let…go of….me…d-damn you—_"_ He let out a strangled cry, and his eyes assimilated fully to crimson as his fangs sank into Kaname's neck. _This…bastard… Now I am truly his Knight._

They were too absorbed in the odd feeling of the final ceremony being initiated to hear the cracking of branches beneath feet. And then, a shriek rang through the woods, and Kaname's eyes shot wide open; Zero quickly pulled away from his neck and wiping his mouth with his hand, wiping his hand on the grass. He rapidly turned around, almost getting whiplash, as pure power coursed through his veins. He could run for miles without tiring.

A young woman stood there, eyes widened, a lantern hanging from her outstretched arm as she stared at the two. Kaname cupped a hand to his neck, but she didn't see it. Rather, she only saw what had happened before.

"I-I'm sorry…" she mumbled. "I… I wasn't aware that there were people…here…"

Zero exchanged a glance with Kaname. "What did you see?"

"N-Nothing!"

"We won't hurt you if you tell us," Kaname added, his voice gentle and kind. A giant contrast to Zero's demanding, impatient tone.

"Uh… Well…" She blushed. "I didn't mean to…stumble upon your…intimate moment… I just—"

"Our _what?"_ Zero interrupted, and she flinched.

Kaname placed his hand on Zero's shoulder, restricting and warning. "I assure you that we do not mind." He smiled at Zero, who scowled at him. "Either way, would you happen to know where we might find a cave? It is particularly popular as a tourist attraction somewhere within this region."

"Oh, uh, the Cave of Candor?"

_I suppose that will do… Unpleasant truths and candor do match up somewhat, _Kaname mused. "Yes."

Her face brightened. "It's five miles from here, as long as you keep straight to this path. Then there's a small town that hosts the tourism business, so if you want to visit, you'll have to get an admission ticket…"

_How troublesome. _"Thank you for your help."

Zero, meanwhile, turned away, sulking with a horrorstricken face. _Intimate moment. Intimate __**moment.**__ What the fuck is wrong with girls these days? Do they automatically assume that everyone is in some sort of an intimate moment?_

Kaname nudged Zero as the girl hurriedly scampered away. "That was very impolite."

"Screaming while I was drinking blood was very impolite," he retorted. "And then implying that I was… with you…" He shuddered.

"Oh, do you want to drink more?"

"No thank you, bastard."

The pureblood smirked. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I want to murder you," Zero replied honestly. "But I _can't_, because I'm officially your Knight."

"You say that as if it were a crime."

Zero groaned. "I liked my freedom while it was unhindered, you know."

"When this is over, I assure you that I will find another Knight while you wander off in the wilderness to do as you please," Kaname replied.

"Fine with me."

"Well, shall we get moving? It is nighttime, and your energy is probably sufficiently replenished."

Zero mutely put his shoes and socks on as Kaname towered above him.

~~o~~

They reached the town by morning, and Zero thought with triumph, _eight more days._ Eight more days, and then he could retire from being a Knight, like Kaname said, and everything would be perfect. He grinned with expectancy and felt better at this fact. The streets were bustling with people, young, old; men, women. Kaname looked much more apprehensive here, but Zero felt perfectly relaxed. He would shoot down Rido, and everything would fall into place. No war, no destruction, and an era of peace.

"The first thing we should do is find shelter."

Zero grinned. "Since we lost the _bag.._."

"So for once you aren't the one indignant at the thought of it!"

"No, because _you_ have to sleep with _me_ in the wilderness." He smirked triumphantly. Then the smirk faltered as what he said registered, and an embarrassed blush tinted his cheeks instead. "That came out…really wrong. Extremely wrong." He sighed. "Just forget it."

Kaname's lips quirked upwards. "I see that you're very eager to reenact what happened last night, then." He continued walking, and Zero matched his stride easily as soon as he recovered from that humiliating moment.

"Wait. The first thing we should do is try to find the cave. How do you know he will be there?"

Kaname finally smiled fully as he turned to Zero. "He is very weakened. His body, from contracting all of those Level E's and placing them under his own control, is currently unable to move very far. But as soon as the tourist attraction opens up…he'll have many victims to feed from."

"That doesn't sound good."

"It doesn't," Kaname agreed solemnly.

~~o~~

"They've been missing for _three days_, Yuki. They wouldn't disappear without a reason," Haruka insisted, sitting at his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What would incite him to run away…?"

Yuki shifted in her seat listlessly as Ichiru knelt by her side, gaze resting on the floor. "I don't know, Father," she said quietly.

For five days straight, she had been interrogated, gently by her mother, sternly by her father. Both were worried for Kaname's wellbeing, but Yuki had promised not to tell, and Ichiru would never betray his twin's trust for the world. Surely…surely they could see the internal suffering that caused her to writhe in her sleep? She wanted to tell them, but she _couldn't_. She _knew_ that this was something Kaname had to do by himself, with his Knight, Zero, at his side.

For the good of the vampires and the Knights.

"The major war is causing an uproar," he said, rubbing his temple now irritably. "The last thing we need is for them to have run off."

Yuki gripped the hem of her skirt, and almost jumped when she felt Ichiru place his hand over her. She looked over to him, and he smiled reassuringly.

"He'll come back," Yuki said with conviction.

And meanwhile, in the other town, Zero swatted at Kaname's hand, shouting, "I refuse to pretend to be in an _intimate moment_ with _you!_"


End file.
